Behind the Mask
by SilverGlimmers
Summary: Set after the events of Impossible Hope. Barry Allen and Iris West move into a tricky future involving masks and secrets. Meanwhile, a new metahuman emerges in Central City.
1. Chapter 1

_This story begins after the events of Impossible Hope. It is not essential that you read that story first, but I would highly recommend it! :) I hope you enjoy this next adventure. Thanks for reading! :)  
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**Chapter One**

Barry studied the tissue sample in his new microscope, analyzing the tiny details and structure.

It had been a few weeks since Barry had heard of Oliver's death. It had been almost a week since Iris met him as The Flash on the roof of Jitters and refused to let him cut off contact with her.

_"I won't leave you alone in this." _Now Iris's words rang back in his ears instead of Oliver's. The hope and support she had given him was so needed. She had shown him a light to move towards, and he couldn't have been more grateful.

The week since had been quite busy. Several patrols had led to preventing crimes or apprehending criminals. The team at S.T.A.R. labs was working together well, ironing out the kinks that had slipped in with Oliver's loss. Oliver might be gone, but people in Central City still needed help. Barry felt like The Flash was back in full form. He couldn't wait to see Iris tomorrow after her late shift and thank her again.

Little did he know that Iris had other plans in mind.

Barry was finishing up the day's work in his lab when a soft knock and a "Hey Barry." brought him up short. Iris was standing in the doorway.

For a split second there was silence between them. Barry found himself wondering how it had come to this: He was more comfortable talking with Iris as The Flash these days than he was as Barry Allen. Considering he spent half of that time vibrating his face and always spoke in a distorted voice to hide his identity, that was really a disturbing fact.

But it wasn't a mystery. Barry knew full well why things between them had become so uncomfortable. One did not just confess feelings of love for your best friend (who was dating someone else) and expect things to remain the same. His suit's mask helped him hide his true identity as The Flash, but Barry Allen had removed another much more personal one. That mask was one that he had been wearing for much of his life. There was no going back.

"Hey." He smiled at her as usual, trying to put as little pressure on her by acting as normal as possible.

She smiled back, but it still didn't hide the look of determination on her face. He knew that look. Whatever she wanted, she was probably going to get. She pushed away from the doorway and moved in for the kill.

"Barry Allen, we are long overdue to spend some quality time together. Eddie is working, and we are going to a movie. Get your stuff."

He raised his eyebrows. He hadn't quite expected this. "Look, Iris. You don't have to feel guilty about-"

"I'm not feeling guilty." She cut him off. " I miss my best friend and I am worried about him. We are going. No arguments." She looked like a fierce mother bear as she stared him down.

Barry laughed. He couldn't help it. "Okay then." he shrugged as he grabbed his coat and bag. "If you say so."

She slipped her arm through his and allowed herself a victorious smile. "I do."

Admittedly, the first hour was a bit stiff as they headed to the movie theater. Barry's world-shattering confession of love hung in the air. Neither referred to it, but it made conversation very stilted. Would some innocent comment be misconstrued? Any tiny thing seemed to have two meanings now. Barry started half a dozen conversations in his head before rejecting each one. However, at the ticket counter a good-natured argument erupted on which movie to see (neither went near rom-com territory or anything that looked to have a love triangle in it). Next followed hassling over how many snacks to buy (Barry's hands were overfilled with a variety of them, Iris ended up carrying half). When they finally ended with a lively discussion over which seat was the best placement, things started to feel a bit more comfortable again. Iris stole handfuls of popcorn like she always had, Barry objected in his usual mock angry way. The laughs and smiles came easier and more often. By the middle of the movie they were trading whispered commentary about unrealistic plot points and giggling about them. Iris felt better than she had in a long time, and Barry seemed more upbeat. It was a good place to start.

The ride home was a bit quieter. Conversation was not stilted, but it wasn't their usual either. Neither seemed to know how to end the evening. She pulled up outside his apartment building, and Barry tried to figure out what to say.

"Iris," he fiddled with his bag strap "I'm sorry-."

She cut him off again, putting her hand on his arm. "Barry, don't. You are my best friend. I don't want to lose that. But I don't want you to be unhappy either. Can we – stay best friends? You seemed really bad the last time I saw you, and the very last thing I want to do is hurt you more. But I miss my best friend. I'm worried about him, and I'm here for him if he needs me."

Barry smiled ruefully. Iris was the person that much of his current pain was stemming from. Now she was offering him support because of that pain. It was truly bizarre. But it seemed to work for them. If he couldn't have her in a relationship, he definitely wanted her as his best friend. That had never changed in all these years. He put his hand on hers.

"Iris, you are still my best friend. Nothing will ever change that."

She looked so relieved that she might cry. She smiled at him. Seeing her so happy made him happy, so he smiled too. They looked at each other for a moment. Then another moment. Then another…

Time seemed to slow for a second. To Barry this was nothing unusual, but as he looked at Iris he realized she was looking at him in a way he didn't recognize, even after growing up together. It was almost like she couldn't figure it out either. When Barry broke their gaze by looking away, Iris realized she felt short of breath. She looked away too and stared out the window a second before looking back, exhaling as she did.

Barry pulled himself out of the car and leaned back in to say goodbye.

"Thank you Iris, we should do this again soon."

She looked up at him, her eyes bright. "I agree. Not tomorrow though, I have plans. Night Bear!" She put the car in gear and drove away, missing how his smile slipped as he closed the door. He watched as she turned a corner and disappeared from sight. He frowned for a moment, contemplating his schedule tomorrow before murmuring to himself. "Me too."

* * *

><p>The next evening the rooftop of Jitters was quiet and dark, except for one thing. A heavy metal deck chair was slowly shifting across the floor, one side and then the other moving forward a little at a time. A moment later Iris popped up from behind it and moved to the front, deciding it was better to drag it into position. She heaved and pulled, then breathed a sigh of relief when she felt she had positioned it just right. She stood back and surveyed her work. Pretty good, she nodded to herself. She checked her watch and wondered if she had time to run downstairs. Does one serve snacks at a secret meeting with a hero? She never had before. All their meetings before had been spontaneous or quite short. This was the first time they had scheduled a meeting so far in advance, last week in fact. It was definitely the first time they had scheduled a meeting to include more than just exchanging information and discussing the death of his friend. She looked at her watch again and decided to stay upstairs and wait. She sat down in the chair she had appointed herself and rubbed her arms.<p>

A week had passed since she had last seen The Flash. A week since she had convinced him to keep talking to her. A week since they had discussed The Arrow and his death. She stared at the night sky and wondered how he was doing with that. She had noticed an increase in sightings of him again, and more people being helped that were attributed to him. Hopefully that had to mean that he was doing better.

Iris was fully aware that this was a risky idea; setting up secret meetings with a hero she was quite attracted to. But she was also fully aware that she loved Eddie and she didn't want to ruin their relationship. She wanted to help The Flash, and she was determined to keep it as friends. He needed support. She could do that. She would do that.

A rushing breeze announced The Flash's arrival to the rooftop, blowing her hair off her shoulders. She stood up and looked around. He was half in shadow as usual, standing off to the side. As she watched he approached a few more steps, then stopped.

"Hello Iris." As always, his voice was disguised.

"Hi, Flash." She suddenly felt awkward. This was more of a formal meeting than they'd ever had before. She gestured to the chair setup she had done earlier. "Look, I made us a little area."

The Flash looked at the spot she'd pointed out. Two chairs were set about six feet away from each other. Close enough to talk but not too close. One was out in the main area of the roof, closer to the rest of the tables and chairs. The other was set back away from the rest, farther into the corner. He knew just looking at it that the chair was for him. Sitting in it, his legs would be further out into the light, but his upper torso and face would be in the dark, hidden in the shadows. He stared at it for a moment, touched and grateful. Finally he looked at her, a playful smile curving his lips.

"So is this therapy, then? I spill my guts and you be my shrink?"

She laughed. "No. I just figured you were getting tired of scrambling your face like that. This way you can actually relax. A little. Also, I turned the security camera to a different angle. Just in case."

The Flash grinned. "You think of everything." He moved towards his designated chair, she followed behind.

"I'm a pretty smart girl." Iris settled into her chair. The Flash followed suit. It felt stranger than he'd anticipated. He had never actually sat down before when meeting Iris as The Flash. He sat straight instead of his typical slouch and tried to make his legs sprawl less than they usually did. There was a moment of silence as each tried to figure out a good conversation starter. The Flash got there first.

"Does this mean you don't care about my real identity anymore?"

"No, it means I am willing to let that slide…for now." She leaned forward a bit and asked the question that she really wanted to ask. "How are you doing?"

The Flash laughed. "Okay, now it does feel like therapy." Still, he couldn't help but answer the question. He knew she really wanted to know. "I'm all right. I went to Starling City today."

Iris looked up in surprise. "You did? Why? No, wait. The Arrow has a team doesn't he?"

He nodded, even though he wasn't sure she could see it. "Yeah."

She sighed, thinking about what they must be going through. "How are _they_?"

The Flash tried to find the right words. "They are…handling it. I guess. That's all any of us really can do. They're trying to keep doing what he always did: Protect their city. I offered to stay and help, but they said they needed to figure it out themselves. They said I had my own city to protect." He thought of the tight hug Felicity had given him, how she was being so strong even though she looked like she wanted to cry every few minutes. Roy's determined face. He was not going to stop the path Oliver had helped him start. That look behind Diggle's eyes, like he had lost another brother. It had taken everything he had to actually turn and leave, even though they had told him to.

Iris thought about that a moment. She could tell he really hadn't wanted to return to Central City. "You're fast, but you can't be everywhere at once." She murmured.

The Flash heaved a frustrated sigh. "I know. But I didn't feel good leaving them. And I feel like there's more they aren't telling me. I know they were glad to see me, but all my questions got vague replies, even the ones about how The Arrow died. And it feels like something is heating up in that city. I hate leaving them alone to deal with it."

Iris nodded. "Maybe they aren't telling you everything because they are trying to keep you safe. Maybe they need to do it themselves. You know, stand on their own."

He shifted restlessly. "I know. But I don't like leaving friends behind. And I really don't like them keeping me in the dark."

Iris laughed. "Says the man in the mask. What was your name again?"

The Flash stayed silent a moment. With his face in shadows, she couldn't tell if he was pouting or pondering. But one of his hands tapped a quick tattoo on his leg. "Secrets are necessary sometimes. And yes, I keep them too. But the longer you keep it, the harder it gets. The more damage it does when it finally comes out. Secrets hurt."

Iris stared at him, shrouded in darkness. She felt a small chill as she realized the many secrets that were adding up in her life. Eddie had no clue about the chain of events that had occurred in the last few weeks. He certainly had no idea Iris now had a standing weekly appointment with the man his task force was assigned to catch. He didn't even know about Barry's confession. The Flash isn't the only one with secrets.

She nodded. "Fair enough. But for the record, I agree with them." He leaned forward a bit in his chair. "Your city does need you. I'm glad you're back in it."

The Flash smiled in the darkness. "Thanks."

"Do you-" She hesitated to ask. "Do you have people close to you that don't know about this? About The Flash?"

The Flash was silent so long she thought he might be just ignoring the question. She was just about to apologize and withdraw it when he finally spoke.

"Yes. But really only one that I regret not telling." He sat up straighter in his chair, leaning further back into the shadows.

She felt a bit of a thrill to even get an answer to such a personal question. "Do you ever think you will?"

"I…don't know." He replied. He sounded more guarded than he had a few minutes before. She almost regretted asking. She was busy trying to find a better conversation topic when he spoke again.

"I worry that she'll find out. Part of me wants her to. But if she did." His words slowed. "I'm afraid…she would hate me."

Iris looked at him. He suddenly looked very tense. His legs almost looked poised to run, even sitting. She filed away the information that this person was a female as she looked for a way to lighten the mood. She smiled at him.

"Oh come on, who could hate a hero like you?"

A reluctant huff of laughter came from the corner. "Thanks."


	2. Chapter 2

_I hope you enjoy chapter two! This story is a bit more of a slow builder, but I am excited about where it is heading. I'm already working on chapter three. Thanks for reading! :)_

**Chapter Two**

The next day as Barry was working Joe hurried into his lab. "Barry, did you get anything at all from the burglary at the jewelry store?"

Barry shook his head. "Not much. No trace of a break in, no residue of anything, just missing jewelry. That place had a security camera. But it was just the one in the front. It was at a good angle, you could see the whole store. But someone disabled it before the robbery. The front door was unlocked from the inside. No prints, nothing. Honestly, it's like the person just walked through the walls, took things and walked out the front door. You sure this isn't an inside job?"

Joe shook his head. "That was my first thought too, but the owner has a solid alibi, so do all the employees. No servicemen or other workers in the shop recently. I can't get a lead on anyone who may have had access."

Barry sat back in his chair and thought. Joe noticed the look on his face. "What?"

Barry shrugged. "Nothing, it's just that every time a case seems unexplainable now my thinking goes straight to metahuman. Joe nodded vigorously in agreement. "But maybe this is just a really good thief."

Joe sat on the edge of Barry's desk. "Man, I hope it's a good thief. Nowadays that seems like the best alternative. Never thought I'd be saying that."

Barry smiled. "Tell me about it."

Joe surveyed Barry for a moment. Barry could practically see his brain in detective mode. He sighed. "What?"

Joe shook his head slowly. "Just wondering if everything's okay between you and Iris. You two don't seem to be spending much time together lately."

Barry sat up in his chair. "No, we're fine. In fact we went to a movie the other day." Joe's eyebrows raised a notch. "Everything's fine." He smiled, relieved to be able to tell Joe that. A few days ago he wouldn't have had the same answer.

Joe looked at Barry a moment, then nodded. "Good. Barry, I know things have been hard lately with The Arrow and the man in the yellow suit and everything." Barry nodded. "Just don't forget you have people around you who care."

Barry smiled. "I know, and thank you. Things have been better lately. Don't worry about me."

Joe laughed. "Son, you know better than that. Worry is what I do."

Barry laughed too as he shook his head. "I know."

* * *

><p>Iris and Eddie sat in a restaurant having lunch together. Iris was enjoying her meal while she chattered away about her search for a job as a journalist. Eddie was just picking at his food. By the time she was almost finished eating, he had barely begun. Finally she couldn't ignore it any longer.<p>

"Eddie, what's wrong?"

Eddie set his fork down and took a deep breath. "Look, Iris. I have been trying to ignore this for a few weeks now, but I don't think I can any longer. You said you'd move in with me, but you are still living with your dad. I haven't even seen you packing to get ready to move. Have you changed your mind?"

Iris lost her appetite instantly. She looked at him helplessly across the table. There was no denying that things had been a bit crazy lately. Much of her time had been spent working or chasing something. A story. Barry. The Flash. Precious little consideration had been given to actually moving, even though the thought of it had been on the periphery ever since she said yes. She shifted in her chair.

"No. No, I haven't changed my mind. I'm sorry. Things have been really busy lately since Christmas and I just haven't had a chance to really dig into it. I'm sorry, babe."

For just a second it looked like Eddie might accept her excuses at face value. Then he frowned. "I feel like you're drifting away from me. Half the time we're together lately it feels like your mind is somewhere else. What's going on that you're not telling me about?"

Iris realized she shouldn't be so surprised Eddie had noticed. The man was a detective, after all. She also realized she was taking way too much time to decide what to tell him. The seconds passed. Without thinking about it her hand went to her mother's wedding band, still on a chain around her neck. Eddie pounced.

"Is it Barry? Is there something between you?"

She immediately denied it. "No! I told you, we're just best friends."

Eddie looked a bit ashamed, but it still didn't hide the insecurity underneath. "And I told you friends don't give friends wedding bands." He practically mumbled to the napkin on his lap.

Iris sighed. She really hated the miserable look on his face. She felt terrible. "Eddie." She began in a calm voice. "I know you've always been a bit threatened by my relationship with Barry. But you have to believe me; he's just my best friend. Why are you so worried all the time? Why are you so…insecure?"

Eddie stared at the table. Now wasn't the time to go into his past. That fat little bully magnet was not who he was anymore. But apparently the effects of that kid lasted a long time. "It just seems like since Barry woke from his coma that you've been interested in everyone except me. First Barry, then The Flash. Why do you spend so much time and energy chasing them? I'm not enough?"

Iris leaned across the table and put her hand on his. "Eddie, I don't see why you're so threatened. I love you. But I can't spend every second with you. And you have to admit the idea of someone with powers like The Flash helping the city is really exciting!" He said nothing. "Isn't it?" She stared at his troubled face. A light bulb blinked on. "Eddie… were you threatened by The Flash? Even before that night? Is that why you wanted a task force? Because I was so fascinated with him?"

Eddie's mouth hung open for a moment as he pulled his hand away from hers. The look in his eyes told the truth. He quickly rallied. "It's not just that. I'm a cop. I deal in the real world! _I_ help the city! These guys with all these powers, I don't even know what to do with them. Think of the things they can do, and we are helpless to stop them! I see nothing good about _any_ of these guys!"

He realized his voice had raised some and looked around. They were starting to draw attention as curious diners looked their way. He lowered his voice. "And then The Flash just proved it himself when he went after me that night."

Iris stared at him. "These guys? You _know_ there are more of them? How do you know that? How did you find out?" Eddie stubbornly held his silence. Iris persevered. "Why wouldn't you tell me that? Just because I'm so interested in The Flash?"

Eddie's face shut down. Suddenly there was a wall between them. She didn't even seem to realize she'd said _I'm _instead of _I was_. He sat back in his chair, adding even more distance. "Interested? Obsessed is more like it. I guess I didn't tell you for the same reason that you never told me you met with The Flash 'a couple of times'. Maybe we don't trust each other as much as we thought."

And with that, he slapped some money on the table and left. Iris ignored the curious onlookers. She was too busy digesting his words.

* * *

><p>Eddie's mood hadn't improved much by the next day. It showed no signs of changing either, since their first call of the day was another robbery. The M.O. seemed exactly like the last one, but this time with a body, unfortunately. When Barry arrived to inspect the scene Eddie made sure he was far away talking to the owner and employees.<p>

Barry leaned down and inspected the body in a security guard uniform. He noted the holstered gun, thumb strap still in place. Looked like he and the burglar had surprised each other, he figured. There was a piece of unchewed chewing gum on the ground next to him. Barry bagged it. With a closer look, Barry spotted the silver glimmer of a foil pack protruding from a pocket. He bagged that too. Barry then carefully assessed for cause of death. He always hated this part of the job. He took note of the bruising around the neck area, and the disjointed angle of the neck. He was just about to stand up when he spotted a discrepancy in the man's uniform shirt. The dark fabric looked lighter around his collar and a shoulder area. He leaned in close and realized it looked that way because there was fine sandy grit worked into the fabric. He collected a sample as best he could, took several pictures, and alerted Joe that he wanted the shirt for examination after the body was brought in.

Joe and Barry discussed the scene and came to the conclusion that the same perpetrator probably committed this burglary, but the security guard had unwittingly surprised him this time. Eddie joined them to discuss it and gave replies in short, clipped sentences before leaving again.

Once he was out of earshot, Barry leaned closer to Joe. "Did I do something wrong?"

Joe shook his head. "No, he's been like that since yesterday after lunch. With Iris."

Barry looked at Joe in concern. "Do you think they had a fight?"

"I don't know but Iris was really quiet yesterday. She had her thinking face on."

Barry grimaced. "Oh boy."

Joe nodded. Both had been on the other end of that look before. Neither liked it.

Barry considered available options.

"Should I say something?"

Joe looked at him as if he had two heads. "There is no way you want to get in the middle of this, Barry. Trust me. Steer clear, wait for it to blow over, and assess the damage afterwards." He moved off to talk with the uniformed police officers.

Barry finished up his examination and headed back to the lab. He began processing samples and evidence, all the while distracted by what he and Joe had talked about. Once upon a time he would have run a victory lap to see Iris and Eddie have issues. But now that it was happening he couldn't help but feel bad for both of them. Eddie had really done nothing but treat him well since day one. He had even tried to get Barry and Iris talking while they had been estranged. He took it on himself to teach Barry how to punch, he told him about his days being bullied as a kid. Eddie was basically a really nice guy. Barry just couldn't find it in him to hate him. He didn't really enjoy watching him suffer either.

Barry also spent time wondering what Iris and Eddie had fought about. The possibilities were few, really. Iris and Eddie usually got along really well. The ball of knots in Barry's stomach told him it was most likely about him, or The Flash. And that made him feel really guilty. He reluctantly acknowledged to himself that Caitlin had probably been right. Getting involved may have been a bad idea. But he wasn't sure he was ever actually going to admit that out loud. Anyway, it was too late now.

It was late afternoon when Joe came back in to discuss Barry's findings. Barry swiveled around in his chair and laid out his evidence.

"Okay, the guard's body was found in the hallway leading to the back offices and break room. Directly in front of him is the video camera surveying the store. Disabled, just like last time. Anyone standing right about where the guard was could reach up and disable the camera from behind without being seen, then proceed with a robbery. But somehow this guard surprised our burglar. The guard's gun was still in his holster so he was surprised too. The burglar got the guard from behind and strangled him, wrenching on his neck in the process and severely damaging his windpipe. Probably took no more than a few minutes." Barry pointed at the discolored areas on the guard's shirt. "See these lighter areas? The burglar _had_ to have this sand all over his clothes. It rubbed off onto the guard's shirt as he was strangled. The pattern is consistent with the burglar holding the guard from behind with this his arms pressed over the shoulders," Barry demonstrated "and strangling him." Barry sat back in his chair and waited.

Joe sat for a moment, his brain whirring. "Okay," he began "but that doesn't explain-"

Barry jumped in. "How either one could have surprised the other? I know. The gum found with the guard was his. The package was in his pocket. It's nicotine gum. The guard was trying to quit smoking. So it appears that the guard stopped in the hallway to take a break and chew some nicotine gum. He was craving. Then he was strangled."

Joe shook his head. "No, no. He sees a burglar about to disable or having just disabled a video camera and goes for nicotine gum instead of his gun? That makes no sense!"

Barry nodded. "I agree. There's no way a guard would do that. So we are left with two possibilities. The guard was in on it and was double crossed-"

"But this guy seems to always work alone there is no other evidence of accomplices."

Barry nodded again. "Yes. Or, he didn't know the burglar was there." Barry waited for Joe to catch up. It only took a moment. Joe spun in a small circle and ended up in front of Barry again. By the look on his face, he was not happy with the possibility.

"You think the burglar is a metahuman."

Barry pursed his lips, still nodding. "It's the only thing that fits."

"So, what? This guy can go invisible? Be made of thin air instead of green gas? What?"

This time Barry shook his head. "I don't know yet. But we need to go back to the first jewelry store and look for sand there too."

"Okay." Joe turned to go, then turned back again. "He couldn't be _made_ of sand, could he?"

Barry shrugged. "Considering everything we've run into before, it's possible. But it seems like everything is possible nowadays."

"Great." Joe replied. "Just great. I guess you better let your buddies at S.T.A.R. Labs know." He headed out the door.

"Already on it." Barry called back as he raced out and ran down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

_I hope you enjoy chapter three. I am attempting to get this entire story out before we start getting new episodes, but I think it's going to be very close. Thank you for all the great comments, and support. You guys are awesome! Thanks for reading! :)_

**Chapter Three**

Iris had definitely been thinking a lot since lunch with Eddie the day before. Even if she tried, she couldn't pin the difficulties they were having on Eddie alone. She realized she had been keeping quite a few secrets in the recent past. That was certainly not the basis for a healthy relationship.

But the realization that Eddie had been threatened by her blog about The Flash, that her desire to spread news about someone who helped bring hope and inspiration to people who needed it made him unsure about his place in her life, was really an eye opener. Now looking back she wondered if everything about Eddie's task force was more about her than keeping law and order.

But that really wasn't fair, she decided. Eddie was a cop. And if there was one thing she knew about Eddie, he _was_ grounded in the real world. He had no flights of fancy, no illusions about the impossible existing, or any other such thing. The man didn't even hold science fiction in very high esteem. Finding out otherwise must have come as quite a shock. While Iris had been exhilarated at the idea that someone with impossible abilities existed in the city and was helping people, all Eddie seemed to see was someone who lived outside the rules of established reality, and was therefore untrustworthy. Just the existence of such a person must have rocked Eddie's world. And then his girlfriend became fixated on him.

Iris could honestly see how that would be very disconcerting, at the very least. It made her a bit sad to think that deep down Eddie was so unsure of himself. He obviously didn't see himself the way she saw him. She had hoped that Eddie would come to view The Flash as she did; a hero who used his extraordinary gifts to help those around him. But accepting that he was real had only made Eddie distrust him. And then The Flash had attacked him and proved all of Eddie's original thoughts to be correct. For just a moment she really wanted to go a round or two with that metahuman, wherever he was. It looked like he had ruined any chance of Eddie ever really trusting The Flash.

Now it appeared that Eddie had recently found that more people like The Flash existed. It bothered her that he hadn't told her. But she knew it was really a small thing compared to the secrets she was now keeping. Everything she knew about The Arrow, her meetings with The Flash, her continued support of him; layer after layer of secrets piled up and pushed her farther and farther away from Eddie. She wasn't being fair to him. She knew that. The Flash was right. Secrets did hurt.

* * *

><p>Eddie knew walking into his apartment that this evening was going to be a bad one.<p>

Iris was sitting on the couch waiting for him, and she looked very serious. Part of him just wanted to leave and avoid what he felt was probably coming. Instead, he steeled himself and entered the room, sitting in a chair opposite her. He waited for her to speak, since he didn't really trust himself to say anything.

"I'm sorry."

Eddie blinked. "For what?"

"For not being able to see the world the way you do. We look at the world, Eddie, and we see two different places. I see hope and inspiration, and you see reality and threats."

Eddie bristled a bit. "I'm not all gloom and doom."

Iris leaned forward. "No, you're not. I wasn't trying to insult you. It's just that we come from two different perspectives. I don't know if we'll ever meet in the middle."

"I'm willing to work at it if you are."

She smiled sadly. "Are you? Are you ready to stop hunting The Flash?"

He returned her look for a moment, and then admitted, "No, I'm not. I read a bit of your blog today. Especially that post about supporting our heroes. That was pretty recent." He met her eyes. She returned it with a look of her own. Sad, but determined. He sighed inwardly, thinking he already knew the answer. "If I asked you to give up The Flash altogether, would you do it?"

She looked away and at the floor as she said quietly. "No."

He stood up suddenly, moving behind his chair so he could grip its back. He leaned over it, tension in every line of his body. "Why not? What is so special about this guy that you will give up so much for him? That you take his side over mine?"

Iris took a shuddering breath as she tried to find words to do justice to her thoughts. "It's not him, it's me. He- He's a hero. He helps people, even if it puts himself in danger. Just like you. But his abilities, what he does with them gives people hope. And because of him, I can give people hope. That is something I want to do for the rest of my life if I can. I can give to the city. I can give to the whole world."

"That's more important to you than me?"

"You are important to me too. But I can't give this up. It's bigger than me, or you, or the two of us."

He shook his head slowly as he stared at her. He just didn't understand it at all.

She stood up too. "I'm so sorry Eddie. I never wanted to hurt you. But if I stay with you I am going to keep hurting you with this. You don't deserve that. You deserve so much more."

He stared at her. The death knell he expected dropped with crushing finality. "So we're just…done?"

She just looked at him. Tears brimmed that she failed to keep at bay.

Eddie took a deep breath. He stared at the floor, looking like something was working to break free of him. Finally he gave up. It seemed like all the words had been said. He headed for the door, even though it was his own apartment. Halfway there, he stopped and turned around.

"For what it's worth, I always saw my world brighter when you were in it."

He walked out the front door, closed it, and leaned back against the adjoining wall. He swallowed hard, pushing his emotions down. Then he headed for the elevator. He needed to punch something. Or a drink.

Iris sat back down on the couch, mostly because she was shaking. She felt raw and exposed. She cried until she felt she had nothing left. Then she packed up the belongings she had there, left the key on the kitchen counter, and locked the door on her way out.

* * *

><p>A few hours later Barry opened his apartment door to find Iris on the other side of it. Her eyes were dry, but she still looked like she'd been crying.<p>

"What's wrong?" Barry asked immediately, pulling her into the apartment and guiding her to his couch. "Are you okay? Why didn't you call me first? Is Joe okay?"

Iris finally found her voice. "Dad is fine. I'm okay. It's just been a bad night. And I…" she fought not to burst into tears again "I needed my best friend."

Barry instantly wrapped his arms around her. He could tell she needed comfort badly. She laid her head as close to his shoulder as she could get, but it was really more around his upper chest because of their height difference. She didn't wrap her arms around him. She just pulled them into her own body as she relaxed into Barry's hug, trying to burrow in and escape the world.

Barry held her close and tried to give her shelter. Worry and concern roiled inside him. He hadn't seen Iris this bad in a long time. Usually when Iris was this upset, Barry could only think of one thing to offer her.

"Do you want brownies?" He murmured softly.

Iris chuckled in spite of herself. "No. I don't feel like eating anything right now. But thanks, Barry."

Barry's eyes were wide with alarm. She didn't want brownies. This was serious. He pulled back to see her face better. "Okay now you're scaring me. What happened?"

Realizing she was going to actually have to talk now, Iris pulled away and sat on the couch. Barry sat down facing her and waited.

Iris knew that giving Barry details could potentially blow up in her face. But she and Barry told each other everything. Or at least they used to. More than anything she needed Barry, her best friend, to be her best friend right now. She blindly hoped that telling him this didn't ruin that.

"Eddie and I…. we broke up." Saying it out loud was much worse than thinking it. Fresh tears welled up and she began searching her pockets for the tissue she was sure she had in them. Barry came to her rescue by grabbing a nearby box and placing it between them. She grabbed a few and dabbed at her eyes as she sneaked a look at his face to see how he was taking the news.

She didn't know what she had expected. That he'd shout for joy? Suddenly make a move to kiss her? Declare his undying love and expect her to reciprocate immediately?

She needn't have worried. Barry's face was sorrowful as he surveyed her obvious distress. Worry and sadness and…possibly even regret played out on his face.

"Iris I'm so sorry." He moved to hug her, then thought better of it and moved back. He settled for putting his hand on one of hers. "I'm so sorry." It seemed that was all he could say.

"Are you really?" She gave him a direct look. She may as well come right out and ask. If she was going to burn this bridge too she was going to do it quick.

But he didn't take offense. He looked her in the eye and squeezed her hand lightly. "Yes, I am. I don't want you to be unhappy. I've never wanted that."

Iris smiled a watery smile. "Even if you love me?"

It was the first time she had ever directly acknowledged his confession out loud to him. They both knew it. Silence settled on the pivotal moment, as if the fate of their relationship depended on the outcome.

Barry smiled back gently. "Especially because I love you." His face changed into a look of self-mockery as he tried to inject some levity into the moment. "You forget, I've been doing this for a very long time."

It worked. They both chuckled a bit. Some of the tension rolled away. She gave him a look of pure gratitude. "Thanks, Barry."

"Anytime."

He offered to put in a movie, more for distraction than anything else. She decided that was a good idea. They sat in companionable silence for a while. She sniffled a bit, and he reflexively moved closer on the couch so he could put his arm around her. She didn't seem to mind. Eventually he worked up the courage to ask the really important question.

"Iris, did you guys, I mean you and Eddie…did you break up because of me? Because of what I told you?"

The worry on his face was very endearing suddenly, so it made Iris feel good to allay his fears.

"Actually, no Barry. No. It wasn't because of you. We just realized that we are two very different people and it wasn't going to work. I never told him what you said."

He nodded in relief, but the worry on his face didn't completely dissolve. Some of the look in his eyes remained. She found that to be a bit odd. Didn't he believe her? But she did suddenly feel better than she had since Eddie had walked out of his apartment, and so she disregarded it.

"Actually, I do feel like brownies. We should make some."

The look faded from his eyes as he sprang off the couch, excited that she seemed to be doing better. He paused the movie. "I'll start the oven, you get the bowl."

Barry had never been much of a cook. But the moment he began living on his own, the one culinary thing he did do was make sure he had the ingredients for brownies stocked at all times. Iris was never more grateful for this fact as she followed him into the kitchen. They alternated adding ingredients and had a batch mixed up in a few minutes. As the brownies baked they returned to the couch and resumed the movie.

Sitting on the couch, smelling the brownies as they baked, the movie became distant background noise as Iris looked at Barry. He looked at her and smiled, then returned his attention to the movie. Iris pretended to as well, but instead she found herself replaying everything that had happened since she had arrived at Barry's apartment.

Ever since he had told her that he had been in love with her since they were kids, Iris had expected everything to be different between them. She had expected him to suddenly be someone different, maybe more aggressive about it, or desperately lovelorn. She thought he'd been hiding his true self all their lives. But now she could see that even with his secret out, Barry was still the same. His secret had never changed him. He still acted the same, cared for her the same; he even treated her the same. The only difference was that he had finally said it out loud. He was still the same Barry she had always known and loved. And it seemed that he had always shown his love for her, all their lives.

Words could not express her gratitude for that.

They sat up for half of the night, eating the entire pan of brownies (Barry ate two thirds of it) and talking. They hadn't done this since before Barry's coma. Their comfort level with each other settled to where it had always been. Barry rated the movie poorly, but that was probably because he'd actually been paying very little attention to it, Iris told him. They debated the virtues of different brownie recipes, and if nuts were actually a vital brownie ingredient or not. The fact that this argument had been reenacted since their teenage years meant nothing to either one. By the time Iris decided she should head home it was two in the morning.

Barry wanted to walk her to her car, but Iris told him to stay put at his door. He reluctantly agreed. They smiled at each other and hugged before she headed out. "I'm so glad you've never changed. Thank you, Bear. See you tomorrow." She gave a small wave and headed for the elevator.

Barry's warm smile remained long enough for him to wave back and close his door. Then it faded, and he spent the remainder of the night considering the changes he _had_ gone through.

* * *

><p>At their next weekly appointment on the rooftop of Jitters, The Flash moved in and sat in his chair so fast that the wind was her only clue he had actually arrived. She whirled around, breathless. His legs were already the only things visible on him. She moved towards her own chair.<p>

"Well, hello to you too."

His voice warbled out of the shadows, light and cheery. "I'm ready for therapy."

She laughed, and then remembered that these therapy sessions meant Eddie was no longer a part of her life. Her smile faded.

It was all he needed. "Wait, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She heaved a sigh. This felt like it was going to be much more difficult than talking to Barry had been. She forced a smile. "I'm fine. It's just…. my boyfriend and I broke up a few days ago." She made a gesture with her hands and tried to make it seem like no big deal.

Silence echoed out of the corner. Iris tried to ignore memories of his previous flirting. Finally his voice quietly warbled out of the corner. "Why?"

Iris hesitated. Lying wouldn't really help. But she really didn't want to admit to him he'd been right. "We- it was because of you."

He was on his feet in a second. "I knew it. Look, Iris. You don't have to be here for me if it means that you and your boyfriend are going to have probl-"

"That's not it, actually-"

"Is it because I was flirting? I'm sorry. I got carried away. Don't ruin the good thing you have because some stranger in a suit was flir-"

"That's not it either, will you let me _TALK_?" She was on her feet too. Her raised voice echoed off the surrounding buildings, shocking him into momentary silence. They stared at each other for a moment. Then, with as much grace as a red-suited masked man could muster, he motioned for her to speak and sat back down.

"Thank you." She sat down with considerably more grace. "As I was saying, it's not that simple. I've discovered quite a few things about myself recently, and one of them is that I want to give people hope. What you do is very inspiring. I want to do my part. Eddie just doesn't see it the same way. We are never going to agree on it. I don't want to keep hurting him."

The Flash absorbed her words. "This really means that much to you?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Yes it does! Blogging about you, showing people that someone is out there helping, and supporting you so you can do it is wonderful to me! This is what I want to do with my life! When I helped Robert, I was smiling for days afterwards!"

"Robert? Who is that?"

"Oh," she laughed a little "oh yeah you don't know about him. He was the guard at the bank that metahuman robbed."

"Um, you'll have to be a little more specific."

Iris gave him an incredulous look. "Really? Okay, the metahuman that messed you up."

"Oh, him! I'm tracking now. Wait, you went to the bank and saw the guard there?"

"I was following up on your story. But the point is that he was really messed up after he was affected too. He was afraid he'd do it again. He was afraid to see his own family. I talked him through it and gave him hope."

The Flash was glad his face was in shadow so she couldn't see how far his jaw had dropped. Apparently there were things he didn't know about Iris as well. He resisted the urge to warn her of possible dangers and threats. He shook his head slowly. "But, Eddie-"

Iris shook her head, effectively cutting him off. "I'm not saying it doesn't hurt. But this is who I am. This is what I want. People in this city still need help. So even though it hurt to break up with Eddie, I feel like I became free. Like I took a mask off. Oh except you put your mask on to help people, don't you? Well that doesn't work then."

The Flash was staring at her in amazement. Or admiration. Or both. "Maybe you were just taking off your shirt." He said softly.

"Excuse me?" Iris's eyes went wide.

Suddenly flustered, The Flash immediately tried to explain. "No. No, it's just like in the comic books, when the hero has his costume underneath his regular guy clothes and when he goes out to help he takes his shirt off and the hero costume is underneath." There was a beat of silence. "Something like that." He mumbled.

Iris burst into laughter. "I love it! Exactly like that!" She aimed a teasing eye his way. "Is that what you do?"

The Flash fell into it easily. "Me? Nah. I can change fast, remember?"

Iris grinned back. She was glad they were getting along well. She had been worried The Flash would take the news of the breakup as a sign of encouragement. While she was definitely attracted to him, she had just gotten out of a serious relationship. Besides, she had concluded that she wasn't missing out on anything at the moment. Her life was full. Full of Barry again. Full of her possibilities for a new career. Full of hope.

When they were finished talking and The Flash stood up to leave, she thanked him. "Looks like it was my therapy session tonight. Thanks, Flash."

He shook his head. "No, thank you, Iris. For believing in what I do. What we do." He flashed her a smile and left.


	4. Chapter 4

_One very huge chapter got split into two. Enjoy the fluff, because things are about to get crazy! Chapter 5 should be up very soon. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and support. Thanks for reading! :)_

**Chapter 4**

Barry was almost done working for the day, which was good. It was already getting dark outside and his eyes were tired after staring at his computer for much of his time there. He had scheduled a patrol for himself tonight, just to keep up his speed and possibly find a crime or two. He had little hope that he would actually find the burglar that was still on the loose.

A second look at the first jewelry store had given them another sample of sand, this time brushed against the wall underneath the security camera. It was so light and small; it was no surprise Barry had missed it the first time around. It was an exact match for the sand from the guard's uniform.

Barry sat back and rubbed his eyes. The problem was that the sand itself was pretty average. It had high quartz content; its grains were very angular. Barry and Cisco had determined that this kind of sand was mined from granite and typically used in making concrete. But there were a lot of concrete businesses around, and that didn't include the bags of sand sold at hardware and home improvement stores. Barry had reached what seemed like a brick wall.

The bigger questions kept coming back though. The amount of sand on the guard's uniform was quite a bit more than the amount on the wall of the first crime scene. If a metahuman were made of sand, he would expect to find a similar amount in both places. Which then begged the even larger question: Who runs around with sand all over their clothes? If the metahuman wasn't made of sand, why was it all over him? The immense possibilities had sent Cisco in a myriad of different directions as he pondered diverse alternatives. Caitlin had rolled her eyes and left him to it. Barry and Joe just spent time discussing it in circles until they decided they needed a break in the case to give them something else to go on. But that didn't stop Barry from researching the many places that sold sand. The list was getting very large.

Iris came into the lab, fresh from work at Jitters. Barry's eyes lit up when she entered.

"Hey Barry, we still up for a movie tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it. You waiting for Joe?"

She gave him a rueful look. "Yeah. Just seems easier to wait up here instead of out in the open."

Barry understood completely. It hadn't been long since her breakup with Eddie, and they were still in the awkward to see each other phase. Her father being Eddie's partner made it that much more difficult. Joe had been physically restraining himself from telling Iris "I told you this would get complicated." Barry was grateful for that. He already had a murder to investigate. He gave Iris a commiserating smile, his hand going up to his shoulders to ease some of the tension that had crept in at the computer.

"Your shoulders hurt? Here let me." Iris moved behind his chair and set to work giving him a shoulder rub. He tried not to fall asleep and wondered if he really needed to patrol tonight. No, he decided, he really did. Maybe.

"Thanks." He murmured, eyes almost closed.

Iris noticed how close to sleep he was and withdrew her hands, slapping him lightly on the arm. "Okay enough of that," She said with a laugh. "You are not allowed to sleep here. You'll never make it home."

"So?" Barry's grin made him look like an 8-year-old boy. She laughed again as Joe wandered in. One arm full of files, he gave Iris a one-armed hug with the other.

"Hey, baby. What are your plans tonight?"

Iris shrugged. "Not much. I'm going to spend some quality time with my laptop. I will be tweaking my resume and updating my blog. Fun stuff." She suddenly realized. "Oh wait! I forgot some of my research at Jitters. I have to go back for it."

Joe nodded. "I'm off to grab some groceries and then I'll be home. He gave Barry a loaded look. "You'll call me if you find anything, right Barry?"

Barry gave him a mock salute. "Sure will."

They each headed in their separate directions. Barry streaked toward S.T.A.R. Labs, grateful for the chilly weather that helped him wake up. He was headed down the hallway to the main lab when he heard shouting coming from that direction. He sped the last few feet to the doorway, ready for anything. He certainly didn't expect what he did find.

Caitlin and Cisco were jumping in place, looking for all the world like they were cheering at a football game. Dr. Wells was sitting, of course, but watching them with a small smile on his face. When they spotted Barry, they all started talking at once.

"What's going on?" Barry sputtered in bewilderment, trying to make out what each one was saying as they overlapped each other. Dr. Wells wisely stopped talking as Caitlin and Cisco rushed towards him. Caitlin got there first.

"Barry! Barry! Felicity just called, and –"

Cisco cut in, unable to restrain himself. "Oliver's alive! He's alive, Barry! I knew it! Well I didn't know it, but I really, really hoped for it!"

Barry was suddenly wide awake. "Really? Are they sure? How?"

Caitlin shook her head, her smile huge on her face. Cisco was laughing behind her. "She wouldn't-"

"- say much about it!" Barry finished along with her, laughing too. The three were practically giddy with delight. "But they're sure! They're sure?"

Caitlin nodded vigorously. "He's there right now! He's in Starling City!"

Barry shot both fists in the air. "Yes! That's awesome! I knew he was a survivor! I should go… should I go? No… they'll be fine." He was barely aware that he was babbling, zipping back and forth as he wavered between his suit and the door. "There's something I need to do first. I'll call you guys later on patrol!"

He finally got the correct order of actions as he changed into his suit and raced out the door. The breeze blew papers off the desk.

Cisco stared at the empty doorway. "Where's he going? Is he just working off extra energy doing laps?"

Caitlin just shook her head, a tiny smile working its way out. She sat down at the comm. console and turned the volume down just in case. Barry was most likely not taking her advice. As always.

* * *

><p>Iris had just returned to Jitters and was about to get into her car when the wind blew up behind her. She turned around, already knowing what she would find.<p>

The Flash was waiting behind her. Even with the several feet that divided them she could see the huge smile on his face.

"What-" She began, but he interrupted.

"Not here." His smile became a cocky grin. "Do you trust me?"

Iris looked him up and down, sensing the excitement in him. "Yes-" The word ended in a yelp as he moved in. Before she knew it, her research papers were in the car, the door was locked and shut, and she was scooped up into his arms as he gathered speed.

The Flash had carried her before, up to the rooftop of Jitters and back. On that occasion it happened so fast she felt like she'd teleported there. It in no way prepared her for the experience of being carried long distance. She clutched his shoulders and angled her face into his chest, avoiding the wind as much as possible. She would have thought that the wind would be freezing, as cold as it was outside. But something about the power he produced, or the sheer heat generated by the friction of his movement made it warmer. She could feel his arms around her back and under her knees, and even though she knew his legs were running, it almost felt like she was gliding through space. Very quickly. She opened her eyes once to view the landscape as it rushed past, but that was a mistake. The speed of it passing made her feel dizzy. She closed her eyes again and focused on the motion. She had to admit, even though she knew they were going at rapid speed, it almost felt like he had chosen a loping pace. Like he was restraining how fast he could really go. Her ears picked up snatches of sound as they raced past different areas of the city, but she couldn't attach a source to any of them. It became white noise until it faded away. Then the light on her closed eyelids faded too. They were out of the city, or at least on the outskirts of it.

She had barely made that realization when they stopped. She tried to catch her breath so she wouldn't fall over as he put her down. He placed her on the grass, near the outer edge of a pool of light produced by an ornate streetlamp and backed a few steps away. With the light behind him, his face was now effectively in shadow. She could just make out the faint lines of his face. He was barely breathing hard, but he looked like he was ready to explode any moment. His smile was still huge.

"Sorry, I needed to find a private place to tell you this, and I couldn't wait until next week."

Iris looked around and realized they were at the lake outside of Central City. There was a small park with trees, benches and graceful walking paths that led up to the water's edge.

She was standing on a patch of grass where several of the paths intersected with each other. All around her were trees, devoid of leaves for the season but having still stubbornly clung to several seedpods per branch.

She registered all this, and then looked at The Flash again, feeling slightly wary. "What's going on?" She asked.

"The Arrow… is alive. He's alive!"

She stared at him a moment. "Really? How?"

He shook his head, still grinning. "I have no idea, they aren't telling me much as usual but this time I don't even care because my friend is alive! He. Is. Alive!" He threw his head back and laughed, exultant. With his disguised voice, the laughter should have sounded distorted or unsettling, but the joy in every line of his body canceled it out.

His excitement was contagious. Iris found that she was grinning as well. "That's wonderful!" She practically squealed as she said it, and without even thinking rushed forward to hug him. He lifted her up and swung her in a circle, laughing the entire time. When he put her back down and moved further away she was laughing too. It was difficult to regain her breath and form words. "I'm so happy for you! For him, everyone!"

"He's a survivor Iris, he came through before and now he did it again! Yes!"

The Flash simply could not hold still, he was so full of happiness. In a blink, he had climbed a tree. Then a different one. Then he circled the park. She could barely follow his progress, but the blur of light he became was easier to track in the dark. Iris was smiling ear to ear, still laughing as she watched. His gamboling play reminded her of a giant puppy with more energy than experience. He raced up another tree, then out onto the lake. Water splashed up around him as he ran further out, then circled back towards her. At this point her laughing stopped, replaced by amazement. She watched with her mouth open, barely whispering to herself.

"Wow."

When he returned to where she was standing he didn't stop. Suddenly he was running tight circles around her and the trees she stood in the middle of, going faster and faster. She found herself at the center of a whirlwind and held her hair down as the force increased. It reached the trees above her, the force of the wind snapping off the last remaining seedpods. They fluttered high into the air and then floated toward the ground, the glittering frost that coated them catching the lamplight as they fell. Iris spread out her arms as they descended around her, laughing. It felt magical.

Rounding the trees on his last circle, The Flash glanced over as he slowed down. Time suspended for a moment, and he was gifted with the sight of Iris, arms spread wide and surrounded by glittering floating seedpods. Her smiling face was equal amounts of delight and wonder.

It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

But it only lasted a second. He stopped in front of her again and took a moment to commit that particular sight to memory. She was watching the final seedpods land on the ground.

He finally felt like he had expended enough energy to slow down, so he flopped on the grass nearby in the darkness and stretched his legs out. Eventually he found a comfortable enough position reclining on one side, braced on an elbow so he could keep his torso upright. She came a few steps closer and sat down as well. There were a few moments of pleasant silence as they both caught their breath again. Finally he looked her way. She was already staring at him.

"What?"

She shook her head a tiny bit. "Nothing, I just didn't know you could do that. Run on water."

He laughed. "Oh, that. Yeah I figured it out awhile back. As long as I keep my speed up fast enough I don't sink."

She shook her head. "There's still so much I don't know about you."

He nodded slightly. "You know a lot more than I ever thought you would." He straightened up so he could look at her better. "Listen, Iris. Thank you for being there for me when I needed it. Losing The Arrow put me in a really bad place, and you helped me back out of it. You supported me and you even supported him. That's why I had to tell you right away when I heard he was alive. Thank you, so much."

She smiled softly. "You're welcome, Flash."

They smiled at each other a moment, then he stood up and she followed suit.

"We should be heading back." He gave her an expectant look. "Are you ready?"

She held up a hand. "Wait, I want to ask, why do I feel like you were holding back on the way out here? I'm pretty sure you can go faster than that."

The corners of his mouth turned up in what could only be called a sheepish grin.

"Erm, clothes have been known to catch fire if I go too fast for too long."

She laughed out loud. "Really?" She looked him up and down. "Is that why you wear that suit?"

The Flash spread out his hands and leaned back on one foot, displaying his suit in all its glory. "Is there any other reason I'd wear something like this?"

She couldn't restrain the gentle mocking tone in her voice as she replied. "Well, it's form-fitting, a little..um..flashy, and it certainly makes a statement."

The Flash winked. "Those are all just a bonus."

He scooped her up and started running. Her answering laugh trailed in the wind behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

_This chapter is a little shorter since I split one into two. I now realize I am never going to finish this story before we get new episodes, but I am really enjoying writing it and I just hope that new episodes don't mess me up too badly. (Once anything canon emerges I suddenly doubt if I even should finish what I had planned if it contradicts. Personal issue...working on it.) Thank you for all your wonderful comments and support. Special shout out to guest Brenda, since I can't reply to your comments. Your extra long review and feedback made me blush and feel very happy. Glad you are enjoying it! _

_As always, thanks to all for reading, hope you enjoy! Chapter 6 will follow soon. :) _

**Chapter 5**

Now that she was prepared, Iris enjoyed the trip back into the city a little more. The Flash chose a loping pace that lent a calming, rocking feeling to his movement. She leaned her head on his chest, feeling more safe and secure than she had in a long time.

All too soon, the lights and sounds of the city returned, and she was abruptly standing on the rooftop of Jitters. It was late and all the nearby businesses were closed for the day. She glanced at her watch and was pretty sure the girl who worked the late shift tonight would be gone already. That was good. The Flash backed away into darkness and waited while she fished her keys to Jitters out of her coat pocket and unlocked the glass door leading downstairs. She held it open while she turned to say goodbye.

"Thanks for sharing the news with me, Flash. I'm so glad The Arrow's alive." He smiled and nodded in return. The memory of his blurred light running in the park tickled her consciousness. "Hey can I ask, are there more fast people like you around?"

His head lifted quickly, staring at her. "Why? Have you seen someone like me?" His tone was suddenly urgent.

She took note of his response as she replied. "No, it's just that I think maybe my friend saw something like you as a kid. Lightning, a blur, I don't know."

He opened his mouth to reply, but was saved from even attempting to field that question by a voice in his ear.

"Barry, you there?" Cisco's voice came through his comm.

He straightened up immediately, turning away from Iris. "I'm here. What have you got?"

"Someone tripped the laser sensor at a jewelry store sixty second ago. It gave off a silent alarm to the police. This might be our guy. If you get there fast enough you might catch him leaving."

"What store?"

"Harrington's, it's the one-"

"Right next to Jitters, yeah. I'm practically there now."

He turned to Iris. "I have to go."

She nodded. "Okay."

He smiled briefly and left, running down the side of Jitters to the narrow alleyway between it and the next building. Iris was smart enough to have picked up that wherever he was headed was really close by. She ran to the edge of the rooftop and tried to peer over the side into the alleyway below. There was no way she was going to miss seeing The Flash in action if possible.

The edge of the rooftop was actually quite wide; with short wrought iron fencing worked into the concrete to discourage exactly what Iris was trying to do. She grabbed the bars of the fencing and stepped up onto the concrete lip, which made a pretty secure perch. If she held on and leaned just far enough, she could see most of what lay below. The Flash was there, standing in the alleyway looking back and forth.

* * *

><p>Barry left the rooftop and headed for the front door of the jewelry store, which sure enough was unlocked from the inside. The burglar had left already, but he couldn't have gotten very far. This alleyway was far closer than the one on the other side, making it a better getaway. He returned to it and looked up and down. Nothing. He thought about moving towards the wider alley behind the building where the dumpsters and recycling bins were, thinking maybe the burglar <em>had<em> made it that far, no matter how unlikely. Then he decided against it. Unless he had super speed too, the burglar just wouldn't have had the time. Not based on when the alarm had been tripped, not considering how fast Barry had arrived. Barry looked back and forth. He should be right here. Then a discussion with Joe came back to him.

_"Or the guard didn't know the burglar was there."_

He spun around, surveying the alleyway with more attention to detail. The buildings on both sides were made of brick. Neither looked sandy enough to make a good camouflage for someone made of sand. He looked at the ground. No piles of sand that he could see. But there was something small…farther down in the shadows. He cautiously moved closer as Cisco's voice echoed in his ear.

"Barry? Did you find anything?"

"There's something on the ground. It's a bag-"

Barry was leaning over, carefully assessing the small black bag before touching it, when the brick wall to his left suddenly came alive. Out of nowhere materialized a large man, eyes rolling, roaring like a bear. His sudden attack caught Barry off guard as the man rammed him with his own body, pushing him backwards and slamming him against the opposite building with incredible force. His head whipped back, striking the bricks hard. A sickening crack registered dimly amid the sudden blinding agony, and Barry was vaguely aware of his own cry of pain echoing through the alleyway before he sagged to the ground.

Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin gasped in horror as feedback from the suit registered on the computer. Caitlin and Cisco leaned into the comm microphones at the same time.

"Barry! Run!"

Still blinking to clear his vision, Barry avoided the hands reaching for him again and staggered to his feet, pain and pressure and the voices in his ears telling him to _get out of there_ all he could take in. He raced to the end of the building before he stumbled, tried to run further, and became aware that his legs weren't working well at all. Darkness crowded the edges of his vision as he located a dumpster and, using his last bit of conscious thought, ducked behind it and slid down the wall into nothingness.

* * *

><p>Up on her perch, Iris had unwittingly chosen a perfect view for the events that unfolded below. She was almost surprised into losing her grip on the fencing when the man suddenly appeared out of a brick wall. Her breath caught in her throat as The Flash was slammed into the building, which was good because a scream would have drawn attention. She watched The Flash as he turned the corner into the back alleyway, running like a backfiring, sputtering car. By the time she had climbed down and run to the back of the roof, she could only see darkness in the alley below. But something told her he hadn't made it very far. The darkness, the lack of blurred light, scared her more than anything else that had happened. She returned to her previous perch to look for the assailant, but either he had melted back into the building, or he had moved. Either thought left her unnerved.<p>

Iris ran to the door and headed downstairs, making her way to the back door employees used to take out the trash. This way she could bypass the other alleyway altogether, just in case. She was at the back door, fumbling with the lock when as if on cue, her father's voice activated in the back of her head.

_"If you see danger, run the other way."_

Her hesitation lasted less than a second. "Sorry Dad," she whispered to herself. 'You should know me better than that by now." She wrenched the door open, peeked out to make sure no one was there, and crept out. She pulled the door shut as quietly as possible.

The darkness was very heavy, but thankfully several businesses had back doors to access the dumpsters, and each one had a light bulb on above their door. The small pools of light provided enough illumination for her to venture down the alley, looking for signs of a red suit. The only problem was that after witnessing a wall come alive, Iris didn't trust any walls in this alley either. She stayed in the middle of the road, away from the buildings. But after two passes and no sign of The Flash, she worked up enough courage to start checking behind dumpsters.

She found him behind the third one, his feet just barely hanging out.

"Flash?" Her voice was a raised whisper. There was no response.

She made her way to the other side of the dumpster and leaned in close enough to grab his wrist and check his pulse. The heavy fabric of his suit impeded that attempt, but by pushing hard enough, Iris could feel his rapid pulse through it. She breathed a sigh of relief. Good, he was alive. He was slumped in a half-sitting position, actually pretty well hidden in the darkness. When her eyes had adjusted to the change in light she could see that he was unconscious, but his chest rose and fell with regular breathing. Iris slapped the wall she was standing next to just to make sure, then leaned against it while she tried to figure out what to do. She anxiously scanned the shadows for any sign of movement.

That was when she heard the sirens. The police were on their way. Oh, no. It was very possible they'd search the area. She needed to get him out of here and not get caught at the same time.

Iris weighed her options. She debated pulling him out from behind the dumpster, but she wasn't sure what the point would be since she knew she'd never be able to drag him all the way around the block to her car. Even the back door of Jitters seemed miles away after she tried to lift him. He was much heavier than he looked. Desperation set in. The sirens were getting louder. She didn't dare leave him to go get her car. All she needed was Eddie discovering him, especially after the way she had ended things. Or even better, the brick wall man returning to finish what he started. She dragged some large pieces of cardboard from a nearby recycling bin and laid one at an angle over The Flash's feet, then pulled the other to the opposite side where his head was and crouched behind it, using it to shield both of them. Hopefully anyone looking would just see cardboard leaned up against a dumpster. She crouched down with her back to the wall, holding up a flimsy piece of cardboard that felt as thin as her options. She closed her eyes for a moment, fighting back panic.

Later she would realize it never even occurred to her to look under his mask, as he lay defenseless. Even later than that she would decide even if it had occurred, she never would have done it. It seemed to lack any element of fair play, and even though Iris could play dirty with the best of them, this just did not seem like the right time or the right person to do so. She was far more worried about what kind of damage he had undergone, when or if he would wake up, and how she was going to get them out of this. She was just wondering if there was any way to explain it that the police would believe when running footsteps started her heart hammering. Was it the police? That would be bad. The brick wall man? Even worse. She held her breath and tried not to bump the cardboard.

"…. should be here, but I don't see anything." A voice said in a tone that was slightly panicked. A flashlight beam shot back and forth, illuminating the ground and walls.

Iris's brows drew together as she searched her memory. She knew that voice. It was…

"Cisco?" Iris popped her head out from behind the cardboard.

Cisco jumped, almost dropping his flashlight. He gaped at her, his phone in one hand and his flashlight in the other, both clutched to his chest as if for protection. He pointed the flashlight at her as if to make sure of what his eyes were seeing. She put a hand up to shield her own.

Cisco's eyes went wider than they already were. Obviously he had finally accepted what his eyes told him. Without a word, he quickly hung up on whoever he was talking to and pocketed his phone, then lowered his flashlight to lessen the glare as he approached her.

"Iris? What…umm…what are you doing here?" He asked. His eyes flickered to both sides of her, searching.

She raised her eyebrows, knowing she was overly defensive but unable to stop it. "I could ask you the same."

"Oh, uh, I lost my watch when I was downtown earlier today and I was retracing my steps. What's with all the police cars out front?"

Mention of the police went a long way in helping her decide to trust him. There really was no time, and no other options. "Cisco, please don't freak out. But I really need your help, and I really need it to stay a secret."

He looked like he expected her to confess that she was a streetwalker any moment. His face looked utterly disturbed. "Oookay." He cautiously agreed.

Iris said a silent prayer to the heavens and pushed away the cardboard.

"Oh." Cisco said softly as the flashlight beam fell on a very obviously hurt and unconscious Flash. "Oh, _crap._"


	6. Chapter 6

_This chapter ended up huge so I split it and now you get two! Yay! I am so excited to write the next chapter, I'll be working on it tomorrow. Thank you all for your awesome feedback and reviews. You guys rock! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy it! :)_

**Chapter 6**

Cisco stood frozen on the spot, his brain racing so fast it made speech impossible.

"Please, Cisco, I don't know how badly he's hurt and we can't let the police find him. Please help me get him out of here." Iris was practically begging, having mistaken Cisco's silence for indecision on whether to get involved or not.

He blinked, wrestled his thoughts into submission, and went with the most obvious idea: Lying.

"Okay. I'll help. I'll get my car and we can get him out of here. I'll take him to S.T.A.R. Labs; we have medical equipment there. You can go home and everything will be fine."

Iris had been shifting the cardboard out of the way so they could pull The Flash out. Hearing this, she stopped mid-motion and straightened up. "Wait, you think I'm just going to let you take him without me? No. I need to make sure he's okay. And no offense, but how do I know you won't take him straight to the police station? I'm coming too."

Cisco adopted a hurt look. "I wouldn't do that. You can trust me."

"I'm sorry Cisco." She apologized, even as she shifted her body into a protective position in front of The Flash. Cisco noticed. Obviously she wasn't that sorry. "But if I don't come, you can't have him."

They stood at a stalemate for a few moments as Cisco figured out his next argument. "Look, we don't have much time before he gets discovered, are you really going to sit here and argue about this?"

Her face shifted into a very stubborn look. "Not if you don't make me. I found him first. I'm coming. What makes you think you have more claim over him than me?"

Cisco opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and closed it for good. There was nothing he could say to refute that particular argument that wouldn't be a very bad idea. Finally he admitted defeat.

"Okay fine." He grumbled. "I'll get my car."

"Where is it?"

He pointed. "A block away that way."

"We should take my car."

"Why?"

"Because it's parked out in front of Jitters. If anyone on the force recognizes it as my car and wonders where I am it could raise suspicion."

Cisco nodded. "Fine, go get it and I'll pull him out."

"You need to go get it."

Cisco groaned, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to grab him and run away while you're gone, you know." He didn't mention that if he thought he could do it, he definitely would.

"No, too many people on the force know me. If you go get it we have a better chance of getting out of here without being recognized."

He had to admit she was right. He held his hand out for her keys. "Which car is it?"

She told him, handing him the keys. He set off the long way around the block to avoid the police as much as possible. In the darkness he pulled off his watch and stuffed it in a pocket. Once he was out of earshot he pulled his phone out and dialed Caitlin. She answered on the first ring.

"What's going on? You hung up on me! Did you find him?"

"Yes, but there is a bit of a snag. Iris found him first."

"What?"

"Yeah, and she won't let me take him without her coming too. I'm getting her car and we'll bring him back."

There was a moment of dead silence on the other end. Cisco could easily imagine the expression on her face. His thoughts were vindicated as her voice lowered to a whisper and she practically hissed in his ear. "You can't bring her here! Are you crazy? There is no way that does not end in disaster!"

Cisco's nerves, already stretched to the breaking point, snapped. "We only have a few minutes before the police are all over the area! He's unconscious! We don't have time for anything else! If you have a better idea, I'm all ears!"

Caitlin's sigh was full of misgivings. "Fine. Hurry up, his vitals are worrying me."

Cisco was rounding the corner, walking as casually as possible as multiple police cars came into view. "Make sure that anything that could give us away is out of sight. I don't know if I can keep her away from him once we get there."

Caitlin was already using one hand to seal off the small room that held Barry's suit dummy. "I'll take care of that."

They hung up. Caitlin went into a flurry of activity, all the while muttering about people being reckless and taking chances. She was so glad that Dr. Wells had gone home for the night.

Cisco spotted Iris's car and muttered to himself as well. "Even when he's in the suit she's still his…something."

He approached the car and got in, trying to look appropriately curious and innocent to the few policemen who looked his way. He started the car, put it in gear and pulled out, doing his utmost to drive casual. He drove two blocks down just to be safe, then turned left and left again into the alley, turning off the headlights and slowing down. As he crept up on the appropriate dumpster, Iris stood up from where she had been attempting to pull The Flash out. He left the car running, got out and helped her pull him out all the way. Cisco made sure he took the shoulders since he could lift more, but also because it kept Iris further away from Barry's face. He felt like he was walking a tightrope over a pit of alligators. Between the two of them they managed to wrestle him into the backseat.

"You drive. I called Caitlin; she'll look him over when we get there." Cisco grunted as he tried to fold Barry's legs into the car so he didn't slam the door on them. At the very least he could keep Iris out of the backseat with him and farther away. She didn't argue and headed for the driver's side. Cisco took a moment to take his coat off and drape it over Barry's head and shoulders, disguising him slightly to anyone glancing over from a nearby car and hopefully Iris too. Then he got into the front passenger seat and Iris drove two more blocks down the alley before she dared to turn the headlights on and enter the main road. They drove for a few minutes in silence before Cisco felt it was safe to breathe a sigh of relief.

Iris was focusing on driving exactly the limit. She was not going to get pulled over with a red-suited hero out cold in her back seat. But she took a moment to send Cisco a grateful smile. "Thank you Cisco."

Cisco nodded. "Okay, so what exactly happened back there? How did you get in an alley with The Flash behind a dumpster?" He caught himself quickly. "That is The Flash, right?"

Iris thought a moment. She didn't want to reveal too much about her relationship with The Flash. Too many people in the know could be dangerous for both of them. "I was pulling a late shift at Jitters and I was on the roof cleaning the tables. I heard sounds in the alleyway below and when I looked, he was standing down there. And the wall…just came alive." She shook her head. It sounded ridiculous.

Cisco turned her way, trying to make his keen interest seem more like dubious curiosity. "It came alive?"

"Well, yes. One minute nothing was there and the next this huge man just appeared. He charged The Flash and slammed him up against a brick wall. That's how he got hurt. The Flash started running but I could tell he wasn't doing very well, so I didn't think he made it that far. I went down to find out. And then you showed up." It was pretty close to what had happened, with a few crucial details omitted. Iris was pretty proud of herself.

Cisco sat back in his seat. His mind easily filled in Iris's information with his own details.

It made sense. But Cisco wasn't stupid. He knew that Barry's voice had been disguised when he talked through his comm earlier, which was not normal unless he was standing by someone he was worried would recognize his voice. Usually, that was Iris. But while Cisco was aware that there was probably more to Iris's story, he didn't dwell on it. He was already fascinated with the new information on this metahuman. Possibilities swirled in his head. He held off on a name though, it was a bit early. He needed Barry to tell him anything else he knew, maybe that would help. He turned to check on Barry's very still frame, hoping that his healing ability was still top notch. Barry was his friend, and Cisco had to admit that he was still a bit worried that he had been unconscious for as long as he had. In addition, he was headed straight into S.T.A.R. Labs with Iris. He tried not to let his stress show too much on his face.

Iris on the other hand, had no problem with that. She took her eyes off the road long enough to look back too. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I hope so." It was all he could say.

* * *

><p>They pulled into the parking lot at S.T.A.R. Labs. Caitlin was already waiting with a small mobile gurney. Iris pulled as close as possible to the front door to make the transfer easier, and Cisco jumped out immediately. Before Iris could even turn the car off and get out all the way, Cisco and Caitlin had The Flash on the gurney and were heading inside. Cisco was already rattling off the method of injury to Caitlin, who seemed to be in full doctor mode. Iris rushed after them down the hallway. When they got to the doors that led down the hallway to their main lab, Caitlin turned to head Iris off. She put up a hand to stop her and spoke quickly while Cisco pushed the gurney through and closed the doors.<p>

"Maybe you should wait here-"

Iris cut her off instantly. "No, I'm coming too. I need to make sure he's-"

"We'll take good care of him. If he needs anything we'll make sure he gets it."

Iris realized how fast her breathing was and tried to slow it down. "But-"

Caitlin leaned forward and put a hand on Iris's arm. "He wears the mask for a reason. Let us help him with that. Let me stabilize him and respect his privacy. I'll come get you when I'm done."

Iris studied her face. "You won't take his mask off?"

Caitlin looked her in the eye. "I will protect his identity in every way I can."

If anything, it was the compassion Iris saw in Caitlin's face that helped her to believe it. She gave a resigned sigh. "Okay. Thank you."

Caitlin smiled with genuine understanding. She went through the doors and closed them behind her. Iris leaned back against the wall.


	7. Chapter 7

_Here you go! Hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading! :)_

**Chapter 7**

The next hour went fast. Caitlin assessed Barry's vitals and injury, got an x-ray and MRI, and several other tests. She found a concussion and closed head injury that was already healing. By the time she looked at the x-ray she could hazard a guess that it had been a far worse fractured skull than it appeared now. Barry's healing ability was impressive, but it couldn't heal instantly. It was entirely possible that without his rapidly regenerating cells, he would have been right back in a coma for awhile, even if it was medically induced due to swelling in his brain. It must have been a massively strong man to create such force.

Barry's hood and its reinforced tripolymer had saved him from any kind of laceration on the back of his head. Once Caitlin was satisfied that his body was on the mend and that he would regain consciousness in the near future, she and Cisco put his hood and mask back on. They zipped up his suit, leaving the heart monitor patches with their wires trailing out and still hooked to the monitor. Caitlin was nothing if not cautious. Cisco even went ahead and put a blanket on top. They turned down the lights, especially the ones around the bed. When they had finally done everything they could to make sure he was nothing but The Flash lying in a bed, Caitlin felt she could bring Iris in.

She paused at the door, looking back as Cisco made a final sweep. He was turning off the many monitors that were around displaying graphics and other aspects of their studies on Barry's speed. He spun in a circle to check the whole room, and then gave Caitlin a thumbs up.

"Looks good. I think we are going to make it out of this alive."

Caitlin gave him a grumpy look. "You don't know that. What happens when he wakes up? There is so much that could still go wrong."

Cisco shook his head, grinning. "This is going to work."

Caitlin leaned away from the door she was about to open and lowered her voice. "For the record, I still think it was a bad idea."

Cisco pointed a finger at her. "Hey, you agreed to this. That makes it _our_ bad idea."

Caitlin rolled her eyes and headed out the door.

* * *

><p>Iris was still on the other side in the hallway, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall. She had alternated between pacing circles, fighting back tears of worry, and checking her watch the entire hour. When Caitlin appeared she sprang to her feet. "Well?"<p>

Caitlin gave her a reassuring smile. "He's going to be fine. He sustained a head injury but he'll be all right. He should wake up soon. Would you like to see him?"

Iris was through the door before the words "Oh yes please." could even get out of her mouth. She hurried into the room and stopped at the sight of the occupied bed in its darkened area.

The familiarity of the entire scene struck her hard. How often had she come to visit Barry in that same bed? Even the low lights reminded her of the hospital and its unexplained power outages. She remembered having to leave Barry's bedside again and again as his heart stopped and the nurses and doctors moved in to code him, working with generator power. She shook it off and approached the chair that had been placed next to the bed, more at The Flash's legs than his head. She sat in it and stared at him.

Looking at his head, Iris had to admit they'd done a great job. The shadows around his face were as good as any he'd stood in while he was awake. She could make out the outlines but not specific features. His mask was still in place. A quick look up and down the bed confirmed that his suit was on underneath the blankets. She looked up at Caitlin, who was watching with a wary look on her face. "He'll wake up soon?"

Caitlin smiled a little as she replied, "I think so." Cisco let out the breath he was holding in a long exhale.

"You didn't expose his identity?" There was a split second pause before each shook their heads. "Thank you." Iris tried hard to make the two words express how grateful she was.

Caitlin smiled. "Sure." She grabbed Cisco's arm and pushed him around a corner. Their whispered conversation was barely audible as Iris turned back to the bed and reached for the hand lying there. It gave her a bit of a shock to feel heavy red fabric instead of the bare skin she expected. Barry's hands had always been bare. She gave it a small squeeze as she looked across the bed and recognized the device on the other side of the bed, sitting innocently on a small table.

That was when Iris realized the other reason that she had been so reminded of Barry's coma. The sound had worked its way into her subconscious so long ago that she was just used to it being there while she was in this room. The beeping of the heart monitor tripped along in a steady, very rapid rhythm. Iris couldn't stop herself from giving the machine a glare. She hated that thing. She had hated it early on in Barry's coma, even at the hospital. Its steady beep told her Barry was alive, but every one left her on edge, sure that the next sound would be the solid drone of a flat line. It had happened often enough in the hospital, and every time it had she had been sure that it would be the last time. Then she would have to bury her best friend and admit he was never coming back to her.

Even after Barry had been moved to S.T.A.R. Labs, the heart monitor had remained. It mocked her with its rhythm, every beep a high-pitched tease that it may be the last. She had found herself hating every beat, then angry at herself for hating anything that meant Barry was still alive. Finally she had asked if she could turn down the volume when she visited Barry, so she wouldn't have to listen to it. She had also turned it away so she wouldn't see it. She had taken more comfort in Barry's chest rising and falling in steady breathing. Caitlin and Cisco had given her strange looks but allowed it. Obviously they had forgotten that now that Barry was up and awake again. But Iris couldn't shake it.

She looked away from her nemesis and instead studied The Flash's chest. It too rose and fell with regular breathing. She took a deep breath also and tried to banish memories from the past.

Around the corner, Caitlin and Cisco were finishing a heated conversation on what to do when Barry did wake up. Both had decided they wouldn't get Iris to budge until he did, but things could get bad really fast.

"Just go along with me." Was Cisco's whispered insistence.

Caitlin's face was full of worry and tension. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Barry's first sensation was a dull ache in the back of his skull. As he drifted towards consciousness he became aware of two things: He was still wearing his suit, and someone was squeezing his hand. The pain in his head kept his eyes closed, since he was sure the light on them would make it worse. He listened to the sounds around him; he was pretty sure he was at S.T.A.R. Labs. He had awakened to the sound of a heart monitor and whispering too many times before. But usually no one was squeezing his hand. That was a puzzle. He was just starting to wonder if he wasn't at S.T.A.R. Labs when Cisco's voice came in at more than a whisper.<p>

"Everything okay, Iris?"

_Iris?_

He came out of bed in the span of a heartbeat, yanking the cords out of the heart monitor as he went. He ended up in the darkest corner of the room, back to the wall, staring at the three people there. The unbroken beep of a flat line filled the room as his shocked eyes met Iris's. Caitlin rushed to turn off the monitor. Iris stood up and Cisco moved into his view.

The sudden motion of his escape made Barry's head swim. He put his hands over his eyes and lowered his head, taking some deep breaths. Cisco's voice finally registered.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down dude, you're okay. I'm Cisco Ramon, this is Doctor Caitlin Snow, and I think you know Iris West. You were hurt and we helped you out. Everything is fine."

Cisco was speaking in the slow, steady and slightly louder tone of a person speaking to someone whose primary language is different. Barry brought his hands down from his eyes and gave Cisco a look that seriously questioned his sanity. Finally he could get out one word, and it was a miracle he remembered to disguise his voice: "What?"

Iris stepped in. "You were hurt, Flash. I found you in the alley. Cisco happened to come along and we got you away before the police found you. You're at S.T.A.R. Labs."

Barry squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Things were starting to come together. "Did anyone-"

"No one compromised your identity. I swear I didn't peek. Everything is fine." She gave him a wobbly smile.

Barry stood for a solid minute, waiting for his head to feel better and taking everything in. The group waited. Finally he nodded. "Okay. Thank you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped me out. But I should go now."

"Are you sure you feel up to that?" Iris questioned anxiously.

He nodded, and then stopped because that hurt too. "Yes. But really," He met her eyes. "thank you."

She gave him a searching smile, feeling the distance between them. "Of course."

He left the room in a blur, stopping only when he was on the other side of the facility and far away from the parking lot. His head disagreed with that move, but it was worth the sacrifice. He leaned against a wall and tried not to panic, waiting for her to leave.

Iris turned to Caitlin and Cisco. "Okay, well, I guess I should be going too. Thank you, both of you, so much. And this is our little secret, right?"

Caitlin nodded seriously, while Cisco tried hard to hide a smile.

"Good." Iris continued. "Well! That means I owe you guys some coffee soon."

Cisco beamed. "I won't say no to that!"

"Okay." Iris headed for the door. "Thank you again." She walked out and headed for her car, wondering why she didn't feel happier.

Once she was down the hallway (Cisco even checked) both he and Caitlin collapsed into chairs. He leaned his head back and finally unwound. "Holy crap."

Caitlin was not able to relax so quickly. "We are never doing that again."

A few minutes later Barry appeared back in the doorway. "She's gone." He made straight for the bed and laid back down on it. "My head is killing me."

Caitlin resisted the urge to lecture and simply said, "You'll need to rest a few more hours in order to fully heal."

Barry nodded, having expected it. He looked at his two friends. "Thanks guys, I had no idea Iris even knew what happened." He frowned. "Do you think she knows?"

Cisco looked undecided. "I don't think so; if she had looked under your mask before I got there I would have probably found you dead, not just unconscious. Still, she looked really weird after she came in here. But we made sure she never saw anything. I don't know."

"Great." Barry looked up at the ceiling and avoided Caitlin's gaze. He knew when she was brewing a tirade. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but even with his eyes closed he could see Iris and her disturbed face before he left the room. His gut told him something was very wrong, and he was worried.

Caitlin took pity on him and put the blankets back over him.

Iris headed down the hallway to the outside doors. The hallway felt like a tunnel closing in on her. The sound of the flat line followed her. Memories bombarded her, all those months of Barry in his coma, the sound of a rapid heartbeat beating in her ears even though she was far away from the monitor by now. By the time she reached the parking lot she was almost running. She got into her car and started driving, but later she didn't even remember the first part of the trip. What she did remember was finding herself pulled over at a small parking lot a few miles away. She had pulled over here many times in those nine months after she left Barry comatose at S.T.A.R. Labs, each time because she was crying so hard she couldn't see the road. She sat in the car and sobbed as Caitlin's face merged with the nurse who had held her back from Barry that first night in the emergency room, while she tried to get to him and they used paddles to restart his heart. She remembered screaming his name; sure she would never see him alive again. She remembered leaving S.T.A.R. Labs and sitting in this very car in darkness just like this, cursing the lightning, fate, and anything else she felt was responsible. And she remembered the hopeless, helpless feeling of those days. That he would never wake up, and she had forever lost one of the most important parts of her life.


	8. Chapter 8

_Yay, an episode came out and I managed to keep going! That said, I really need to figure out how to judge chapter length. Yet another one got whacked into two. Here is the first, the second will follow shortly. Sorry if these are coming out so fast and furious, I can't seem to relax until the entire story is out. _

_As always, thanks for all your reviews and support, they are very appreciated! _

_(Guest Brenda, so glad the chapters made your heart smile, your comment did that for me. And oh yes, Cisco/Iris are supposed to be a little humorous.)_

_Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoy it!_

**Chapter 8**

When Iris finally made it home that night, her father had already gone to bed. She crept into her bedroom, glad not to have to talk or explain why she looked like such a mess. It had taken everything she had not to drive to Barry's apartment and pound on his door, just to assure herself that he was alive and well. For hours she lay on her bed, in utter darkness, staring at the ceiling.

The trauma of reliving the days during Barry's coma had been terrible. But now that she had gotten through the storm of emotions she felt like she had been given a gift. Somewhere a wall had crumbled. Looking back, Iris could suddenly see the patterns and paths her life had taken since Barry had been struck by lightning.

She was finally honest with herself and realized that she would probably have never become involved with Eddie if Barry hadn't been cut from her life so suddenly and completely.

Iris felt terrible acknowledging it, but there it was. Eddie had been her rebound. She would never consciously use someone to replace someone else. It wasn't fair to anyone. But the massive hole left in her life had left her hurting and in need. Eddie had filled that place, much as she hated to admit it. She felt guilty. Iris truly cared for him, but Eddie deserved better. If Barry had never been struck by lightning, she would have been happy to keep going the way she had been, probably for years.

Iris thought through the horrible months and experiences of Barry's coma and realized that far before he had awakened, she had been shielding herself against further pain. Layer after layer of protection had been put up, because the hurt had been so awful she never wanted to experience it again. She could now completely sympathize with Barry's fear of losing someone he loved after losing his parents. She had been very much the same.

When Barry had suddenly walked into Jitters the day he woke up, Iris had been so happy to see him awake. None of her reaction that day had been a lie. But even then, the shadow of the previous months had lain over all of it. His heart stopping over and over, her fear of losing him forever, all that pain had kept her from truly opening up to him again. Her mind knew he was fine, but her heart still worried that he would leave again.

In addition to her new psychological barriers, there had also been Eddie and The Flash to consider. Iris could now see how everything had suddenly become so tangled and confused. Barry himself had been different since he woke up. She wondered if he had been coming to tell her he loved her, fresh out of his coma and ready to confess finally, only to see her and Eddie kissing and realize she now had a boyfriend.

The lightning had changed everything.

In the quiet darkness, Iris felt another mask dissolve away. It felt scary to be so unprotected. But she also felt that its blinding weight had been lifted.

Even so, as she tried to fall asleep, Iris swore she could still hear the beeping of the heart monitor.

* * *

><p>The next morning Barry felt much better after a night's sleep, and Caitlin's latest x-ray had shown his skull to be fully healed.<p>

Joe arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs after a text from Barry. Caitlin, Cisco and Barry were discussing the case when Joe entered, followed shortly by Dr Wells.

"Glad to see you all mended, Barry." Harrison nodded at him.

Joe was leaning against a nearby desk. Arms folded, he was scrutinizing Barry, obviously deep in thought. Barry looked his way and gave him a questioning look. "Yes?"

Joe raised his eyebrows. "Didn't I say call me?"

Barry spread his arms in a helpless gesture. "Sorry, Joe, I didn't have time and I really didn't expect a brick wall to attack me."

Joe gave him his classic fatherly look that said he barely accepted such a lame excuse, but let it go. Barry turned away, giving Caitlin and Cisco a look.

Cisco came to his rescue. "Okay, so Barry's suit gave us some small grains of sand around his shoulder areas where he got tackled by the metahuman. This is no surprise to anyone, I know. But Barry's version of events has provided some new insight."

Caitlin took over. "We think that this metahuman can camouflage to anything he is in contact with. He is not made of sand. He has been around sand. A lot."

Cisco looked slightly sad not to have a sandman metahuman challenge. Barry moved in. "He was backed up against the brick wall, so he was touching it. He was perfectly concealed to look like brick, not sand. He probably would have stayed that way if I hadn't looked at his bag. I'll bet his stolen jewelry was in it."

Joe was busy absorbing the facts. "So, what, he can make himself look like something he touches but he can't do that for anything he carries in his hand?"

Cisco nodded. "Pretty much. Maybe he could have made himself look like a bag if he was holding and touching it, but Barry totally would have noticed a huge bag shaped like a man standing there."

Barry nodded in agreement.

Joe shook his head, laughing slightly. "Okay, so he dropped the bag and made like a wall. Until Barry got too close for comfort."

"Exactly." Cisco sat back and smiled.

Joe looked at Caitlin. "So what about this sand?"

"Well, we know he's not made of it. But it has been at each crime scene in different ways. We think that wherever he's hiding or lives, if you want to think of it that way, is near or around a concrete business that pulls their sand from large piles on site. There is just no other way for him to have that much all over his body and clothes."

Cisco couldn't contain himself. "He's probably pressing up against it to camouflage himself! That's how it gets everywhere! He's hiding in plain sight!" He was grinning like a kid.

Harrison was following the conversation with interest. "He's a chameleon." He murmured, looking fairly impressed by Harrison Wells's standards.

Cisco snapped his fingers. "Yes! I wonder if I could make a name out of that…."

Joe looked at Barry. "So that security guard…"

Barry nodded. "Yup. He had the worst luck in the world. He wandered into a hallway, stopped to chew some gum, and probably leaned against the wall, but ended up right on this guy. Judging by his reaction to me last night, I don't think it's a stretch to think that he strangled the guard just for discovering his secret. Caught him totally by surprise."

Joe shook his head. "Wow."

A few moments of silence followed, the seriousness of the discussion seeping in. A well-kept secret, harmless enough when hidden, had turned deadly the moment it had been discovered. Barry tried hard not to think about his own secrets and how Iris had looked the night before.

Joe stood up. "Okay, so how do we track this guy down?"

Barry pushed his worries away. "We have a couple ideas. Now we can narrow the search to concrete businesses that buy their sand by the truckload and keep it on site, I'll check to see what kind of sand they all purchase, see if we can find a match. Also, we need to go back to the jewelry stores that were robbed and see if anyone knows anything about this guy. There has to be a connection between him and the jewelry. I don't think he's trying to fence them."

Joe's eyebrows rose again. "You don't?"

Barry shook his head. 'His reaction was so extreme; it felt like he was protecting something he loved. I think he's keeping them. For whatever reason."

Joe sighed in frustration. "Well, that's more than we had before."

The group broke up to head their different directions for the day. Joe pulled Barry aside.

"Iris didn't come home until late last night; do you know anything about that?"

Barry debated with himself for only a second. "No, no I don't. Did she seem okay?"

Joe studied him. "Not really sure."

"Well, we're supposed to go to a movie tonight. I'll let you know if she says anything."

Joe watched him as he backed towards the doorway.

"You do that."

Barry tried to look unworried as he headed to work.


	9. Chapter 9

_Here is the next chapter. I was very excited to write this one. Enjoy! Thanks for reading! _

**Chapter 9**

That evening Barry answered his door, expecting Iris there to pick him up for the movie. The minute he saw her, he knew something was different. Iris looked... vulnerable. It was the only word he could think of to describe it. Her eyes were wide and full of emotion, and she looked at him for a moment as if she couldn't really believe he was standing in front of her. He looked back at her, terrified that she had figured out everything.

Iris had gotten through work by the very skin of her teeth; even though she was sure she had broken more dishes and gotten more orders wrong than she ever had in a single day. The beeping sound of the heart monitor had followed her into sleep and work. She felt emotionally fragile. She stared at Barry. She had needed to see him all day, just to make sure he was still there.

"Iris? You okay?"

She walked into the apartment and put her bag down. "I don't want to go to a movie tonight, Barry. I want to talk."

He briefly thought of closing the door with himself on the outside of it, but decided against it once he looked at her face again. She didn't look angry. She looked like she needed a friend. He closed the door and walked past her towards the couch. He waited there for her to come in further. She just stood there.

"Iris, talk to me, tell me what's going on." He was getting really worried.

She looked at him with new eyes, noticing for the first time in years how cute she thought he was. She took several steps closer until they were standing face to face, within arm's reach of each other. Their eyes locked as she raised her palm and placed it on his chest, directly over his heart. Of its own accord, his hand rose up and placed itself over hers. She took comfort from the steady beat of his heart, even if it _was_ pretty fast.

"It's still beating." She said, a small catch in her voice. She looked overcome with emotion.

His smile didn't remove the concern from his eyes. "It's still beating, Iris."

They were still searching each other's faces, each seeking reassurance. The air was charged around them. Undercurrents of emotion and something else filled the empty space between them. Something had to give soon.

And it did. Iris suddenly hugged him, clutching him painfully tight. Unlike before, this time she did wrap her arms around him, holding onto him with everything she had. His arms immediately went around her as well. They clung to each other for a few minutes, until Barry realized his shirtfront was wet. He looked down at the top of her head; her face was buried into his chest.

"Iris?"

Her shoulders began shaking now, so he helped her sit on the couch and grabbed the tissue box again. She wiped away tears impatiently as she tried to get out what she had come to say.

"I'm sorry Barry, but something happened last night, and it has really helped me realize some things."

A tiny wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows as he listened. "Like what?"

"I had an experience that reminded me so much of when you were in the coma, and it was horrible to remember that. You were just gone but your body was still there and your heart kept stopping and every time I visited you I could tell you were drifting farther and farther away from me. It hurt so bad to have you gone, Barry. I missed you so much."

Barry looked at her, feeling helpless to reassure her. It had never occurred to him that seeing him in that bed last night had reminded her of those nine months. He wasn't even sure what to say, since he was pretty sure his usual response of "I'm sorry" was getting old. The coma had been the blink of an eye to him, and when he woke up life had taken such crazy turns he hadn't had time to even consider the damage those long months had done to her and Joe and his father. Even then, he had begun to view the lightning strike as a good thing because it enabled him to help people the way he had always wanted to. Guilt filled him as he realized that same event had caused her so much pain.

"I'm so sorry Iris." He just couldn't stop it from coming out. She simply looked at him, her face full of misery. Tears began falling freely.

All he could think to do was wrap his arms around her and let her know that he was there. He was alive, and he was there for her, in every way he was able to be.

So he did just that. He scooted closer on the couch and held her. For several minutes she just wept. Then words started spilling out of her; it was like she couldn't contain them anymore.

"You just left me, Barry. You left me all alone after everything we had been through together. You were supposed to be my best friend forever and instead I got a friend in a coma and that damn heart monitor and then you came back like nothing happened and told me you love me and I was with Eddie and what was I supposed to say? But don't you dare ever think I don't care about you, Barry Allen!" Her voice had risen in volume. She was thumping his chest now. "Don't you dare!"

"What? No, I didn't!" She raised her tear-streaked face to look at his earnest one. There was a pause, and then he pushed a strand of hair away from her face and said softly. "I never thought you didn't care."

For some reason, that seemed to make her feel better. Her tears subsided. She took a deep breath, and with the exhaled air went out all the stress, turmoil, and crushing weight that felt like it had been there for so long. She turned her head so one ear was pressed against his heart like she still needed to know it was there. Wordlessly he adjusted his legs to that he was partially reclining; then she could lay her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Her arms crept around him. One of his wrapped around her shoulders. They stayed on the couch in that position for a long time in silence.

As Iris listened to Barry's rapid heartbeat, she was finally able to admit to herself that she now thought of Barry as more than a friend. She wasn't really sure if she felt that way before the coma. It was possible she had been stuffing thoughts like that away for a long time. But the coma had helped her realize how important he really was to her, even if it took a while to sort through. She thought back to Christmas and remembered the thrill of excitement she had felt when she realized Barry's present to her was a ring box. She had suppressed it. Barry's present had been so heartfelt and beautiful; she should have seen his feelings for her right then. But Eddie's present had also been in a ring box. She had experienced a moment of fear looking at it. She had been relieved that it had just been a key. If that hadn't let her know how she truly felt, her response to Eddie should have told her. Instead of saying yes, she had said I love you. Because she didn't want to hurt him by saying no, but part of her did not want to say yes.

Iris closed her eyes, memorizing everything about where she was right now. She felt more safe and secure than she ever had in her entire life, even when The Flash had carried her. This moment felt like she had finally made her way home after a very long and difficult journey. She never wanted to leave. Not even for The Flash. Her arms gave Barry a light squeeze and she murmured. "Don't you ever leave me again."

Barry tried not to think about last night and the dangers of his second job. He wrapped both arms around her and replied. "I'll do my best."

Barry held Iris tight and stared at the ceiling. The last thing he wanted to do was put too much pressure on Iris. But everything Iris had done and said tonight had caused a tiny flare of hope to start. He had loved her for so long that a part of him had been resigned that it was never going to work out. In many ways he had accepted that, even after she broke up with Eddie. But now he wasn't sure what to think, and he was afraid to ruin it. Maybe he was misinterpreting things. There were many ways to interpret the word "care". He had always known Iris cared about him as her friend, even if she didn't have the same feelings of love for him. Maybe this was just the universe's way of messing with him, since it seemed he might just be on the cusp of everything he'd ever wanted but with one huge catch. He stared at the ceiling and wondered if he should just forget his promise to Joe and tell her the truth about The Flash. Finally he decided not to, less because of his promise to Joe, and more because he was terrified she would hate him for lying to her.

The lightning had changed everything.

He kept his arms around her and tried to remember everything about this moment. His worried face stared at the ceiling. Iris, exhausted after her lack of sleep the night before, fell asleep. He lightly kissed the top of her head, so light that she wouldn't feel it. Then he held her and wished he would never have to let her go.

* * *

><p>Iris had been lulled into sleep by Barry's heartbeat. At first she slept well, warm and safe. But then Barry's heartbeat slowly became the beeping heart monitor. Each shrill, fast beep caused more and more distress, until Iris woke with a start and realized she was still lying on Barry's chest. She looked up to see if he was asleep too and met his eyes. He was watching her, looking slightly concerned.<p>

She smiled tentatively. He did the same. This was new territory.

"Hey." He said softly.

She smiled a bit wider. "Hey."

She sat up and stretched. He tried to wake the arm that had fallen asleep. She giggled, watching him. "Sorry."

He laughed a little too. "It's okay."

She checked her watch. "Oh, it's getting late! I should head home."

Barry nodded. He was completely unsure about what the appropriate action was at this point. So he went to his default. When in doubt, be her best friend.

Iris stood up, for the first time in a very long while feeling like she knew what she wanted and who. She looked up into Barry's face. She looked so open and honest right then, and very happy. Barry looked back at her, holding his breath without realizing it. More than anything, he wanted to be deserving of that look, if it meant what he thought it meant. He opened his mouth. He needed to tell her about The Flash.

"Iris-" He stopped, his throat constricting.

"Yes?' She looked up at him, looking at him with clear eyes and a smile on her lips and maybe even a bit of hope. But all he could think of was the hate he would see when he told her. So much had happened between them recently while he was wearing that suit. _Secrets kept for too long always hurt more when they come out._ He fought the urge to cry, crushed under the weight of his circumstances. Ones he had helped create. Finally he shook his head, smiling to cover it.

"Nothing."

Iris's eyes dimmed just a little bit, but she recovered quickly. "Okay. See you tomorrow I hope?"

"Yeah." He smiled.

She smiled wider. "Good." She turned away, undaunted. Iris West wasn't afraid of a challenge. There was always tomorrow.

Barry watched her leave, feeling slightly sick. Maybe he'd try again tomorrow.

* * *

><p>It was hours later, just as Iris was on the verge of sleep again, that she finally understood what her subconscious was trying to tell her. Drifting in half-asleep, her mind wandering and in a state of free association, it dwelt on the events of the night, especially Barry's heartbeat. The rapid heartbeat she had listened to tonight that was the same as the one on the monitor during his coma…she knew that heartbeat so well by now...the one that she had felt on her palm twice now beating in his chest…the exact same rhythm and pace as the one that she had heard while The Flash lay in the bed at S.T.A.R. labs, followed by a flat line when he had jumped up…<p>

Iris sat straight up in bed, her heart pounding, gasping for air. The ringing of a flat line pulse was still in her ears as she sat in the darkness with one thought in her mind:

_Barry is The Flash._


	10. Chapter 10

_After the lovely warm fuzzies that I got writing the last chapter, I kind of hated to do this to them. But the truth must come out. Hang in there! _

_As always, your reviews and wonderful comments have really meant a lot to me. Thank you so much for reading and supporting! :)_

**Chapter 10**

Barry is The Flash. _Barry _is The Flash. Barry. Is. The. Flash.

Iris couldn't comprehend it. Her best friend Barry Allen was the man in scarlet running around the city, the fastest man alive. It was crazy. It was impossible to believe.

Except it wasn't. Everything about this made so much sense. Barry had been acting different since the first day he woke up. She had known it. She had tried to pry it out of him, but he had resisted. After he had confessed the love he had always had for her she had been able to attribute his behavior to that alone. It certainly made enough sense at the time. But now it was like a flashlight's searching beam had yielded to the illuminating light of the sun. Where once she got small pieces and different views, she now had a full picture.

Everything that had happened since he woke from his coma replayed in her mind as she once more lay in her bed, putting patterns and paths together. Obviously the lightning strike had something to do with it, since she knew Barry had not been born with this. His insistence to Joe that a bank robber could control the weather made more sense now. Barry had always chased the impossible, but that had been a bit of a stretch at the time. Or seemed to be. What also made sense now was him pulling her out of the way of the police car and then being so suddenly gone. She had thought it was her misconception, her being out of sorts because of the accident right after. She remembered him stress eating at Jitters months ago, when he eaten a huge amount of food and then told her that he thought he had to do something but found out he wasn't very good at it. She remembered the phone call he'd received. _"I told you, I'm through." _He had been going to quit. But then he had hastily made an excuse she didn't believe for a moment and left. Obviously he had changed his mind.

He had also gotten better at it. Much better. Her blog was filled with sightings and stories of people saved or helped, criminals stopped. Now it made sense why he had been so resistant to the idea of The Flash or supporting her blog. That had been so drastically out of the norm for him, it had raised a red flag immediately.

The night he and Tony fought replayed in her mind, and it was mind blowing to imagine Barry inside that suit, Barry getting thrown against a wall, Barry coming through the doors so unbelievably fast and punching a steel-plated Tony. Bet Tony never saw that coming back when they were in school.

But at the same time it wasn't mind blowing at all to think of Barry in that suit moving her away from Tony, complimenting her cross, breaking his hand to bring Tony down. Of course, she'd delivered the final blow, but she never would have been able to if The Fla- …if Barry hadn't gotten in the first punch. That was exactly what Barry would do.

Iris could see now that Barry was not the only one who had been changed recently. If Tony had been metal when he was a kid, he certainly would have used it. Iris wondered if the burning man and the one who made people angry were all a part of this big mess. She was willing to bet they were.

Iris punched her mattress. Why hadn't she seen it? Why hadn't she seen who it was behind the mask? She knew Barry better than she did anyone else. If he hadn't been disguising his voice, scrambling his face, she would have known him immediately.

She had to admit that part of it was because Barry was just so unassuming; she couldn't picture him and The Flash as the same at all.

But she should have felt it. Their easy banter reminded her a lot of talking with Barry. Or not. Barry was her best friend. The Flash was a confident hero. She had already admitted being attracted to him. There was energy between her and The Flash that she hadn't experienced with Barry. Of course, Barry had never overtly flirted with her either. Barry was her best friend. Being attracted to him was just not how she thought about him. Until maybe last night.

Last night…thinking about that just made her angry now.

Iris sat up and punched her pillow. All these months, all those secret meetings, and he never told her? Did he think she couldn't be trusted? That she wouldn't support him? That she couldn't accept it or understand? That really hurt. Add that to his secret feelings of love for her and she felt like the person she thought she knew inside and out was not anyone she recognized at all.

* * *

><p>Iris was working the late shift the next day. After finding a small amount of restless sleep she spent the morning and early afternoon making sure she didn't see Barry or text him. Her plan last night had been to search him out today and make sure he knew her true feelings about him. He was so reticent, she knew she'd have to make the first move if she wanted their relationship to change. But now she wasn't exactly sure what those feelings were. And their relationship had definitely changed, but she wasn't sure what to.<p>

At work she debated for a bit and then placed a message on her blog, asking to see The Flash tonight. She hadn't done that in a while, not since they had made a regular schedule. She spent the rest of her shift trying to be friendly to customers and hide the anger that lay underneath. It was a difficult feat. The more she thought about it the angrier she became. By the time she was almost ready to close, gathering dishes as the other staff made their way out, she was so angry that she ended up slapping mugs and plates on the counter. One made an ominous crunching sound. She winced, realizing it was probably chipped if not broken.

"Iris? Everything all right?" It was Stacey, one of her coworkers heading out.

Iris sighed in frustration. "Yes, everything is fine, thanks."

Stacey's face clearly said she didn't believe it. "Sure, Iris." She waited a few more minutes, an expectant look on her face. Iris smiled in spite of herself. Stacey was a little out there sometimes, but she was a nice person. Iris leaned across the counter.

"Did you ever find out that someone you thought you knew is someone you don't know at all? Did you ever realize you were friends with a stranger?"

Many other girls would have had a trite or sarcastic comment to make, but Stacey really seemed to give it some thought. "Well, Iris, honestly no."

"Great." Iris leaned back again, ready to go get more dishes.

Stacey put a finger up. "But! That's because I don't think just knowing facts and figures about a person's life means you really know them. _Knowing_ someone is totally different." She started to warm to her subject, her eyes starting to gleam. "I believe that when you know someone you really see what's inside them, inside their soul, you know? And then those other things just don't matter at all. If you know what's inside, that's what's important. When I know their soul, I'll always know them."

Iris was expecting poetry any moment. She was sorry she asked. But she smiled anyway, so Stacey's feelings wouldn't be hurt. "Thanks Stacey. That…really helps."

Stacey beamed. "Anytime!" She headed out the door. Iris shook her head, rolled her eyes, and went back to work.

* * *

><p>When Barry spotted the message on Iris's blog, for the first time he wasn't in a hurry to get there. Last night had been difficult, yielding little sleep and a lot of turmoil. He knew that if he ever wanted anything to happen between him and Iris, he needed to tell her the truth. Barry's highest hopes, when he admitted to them, were being married and making a life with Iris. He just couldn't do that if he was lying to her. Not if there was any chance at all of her returning his feelings. After last night, he really felt there might be.<p>

He was still afraid she'd hate him. He was still aware that telling her could ruin things between them forever. He was even aware that Joe might very well turn away from him for doing it. But a simple secret had gotten way out of hand. Even though he was terrified of the consequences, the truth needed to be told. He honestly felt worse about the potential consequences of this move than he had about telling Iris how he felt about her.

When the time came, Barry moved at a slower pace than usual, putting on his suit and heading to Jitters. He realized how slow he was going when he started to draw more attention from people he passed. Usually he was past them before their heads could turn. He increased his speed reluctantly.

When he got to the rooftop, he immediately saw Iris standing in the middle of the chairs and tables. The lights were lower than usual. She was in shadow too. Barry tried not to show his nervousness and smiled. "Hello, Iris."

"Hey." She took an abnormal amount of time replying for just one word. She studied how he moved, noting how different he moved in the suit compared to his everyday clothes. That was something. He didn't move like Barry in that suit. She was still angry she hadn't figured it out earlier.

Barry sensed the difference in her. He searched his brain for a reason. "Hey, I'm sorry I left so fast the other day. It was really confusing waking up there. I heal fast, so I promise I'm fine."

Iris shook her head, close to angry tears. He heals fast. Just one more thing she didn't know about her so-called best friend. It hurt just to hear that disguised voice and now be able to recognize Barry behind it. She felt so stupid.

Barry stared at her. He had been so focused on telling her that he hadn't even thought about why she wanted to meet with The Flash. Now he realized that there was definitely a reason. "Are you okay?"

Iris was starting to get really sick of hearing people ask her that. She didn't trust herself to speak. She was pretty sure she'd start screaming at him. She just shook her head.

Barry was thinking he'd better sit down and hear what she had to say. If he could get her to talk at all, that is. He looked to the corner where his chair usually sat.

It wasn't there.

He looked back at Iris, and the question died in his throat as she moved into the light.

Her eyes were blazing with repressed emotion. Her face was set in rigid lines. She was staring at him like she could see right through his mask. One thought flew across his mind as she started walking toward him:

_She knows._

There were a few seconds where Barry could have left. He could have run and prevented what happened next. But he didn't see the point. He could tell by her face that it was already too late. Besides, he'd meant to tell her anyway.

So he let her walk towards him.

He let her stop inches in front of him.

And he let her place her hand over his heart.

Even through thick tripolymer, the rapid beat that she knew so well confirmed what she already knew. She gritted her teeth, breathing rapidly, and pulled her hand away like the touch had burned her. She looked up into his face. He looked like he was awaiting the executioner.

In a completely irrational way it made Iris feel a bit better to study his face with the mask on. Now that she knew who was behind it, she could pick out features that were Barry. But on the whole, the mask and hood that covered his hair, neck, ears, forehead, much of his face and even his chin made it difficult to see what the person underneath was really supposed to look like. Especially if it was covering the last person you'd expect to find there. She took some comfort in that. It's not like he was just wearing glasses.

When she finally met his eyes, she could read the distress and fear in them. But she had other things she was more focused on. She finally forced herself to speak.

"Why? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

He looked defeated before he even started, like he knew his answer wasn't good enough. For the first time, his voice emerged undisguised. "Joe asked me not to. To keep you safe. And then, I wanted to protect you."

She knew her face registered shock, much as she tried to cover it. "My _dad_ knows?"

Barry winced, closing his eyes. _Sorry Joe. _

Barry had thought he would see hatred when Iris finally learned the truth. He was wrong. What he did see was anger, betrayal, hurt, and sadness laced with huge amounts of pain.

It was a million times worse than hate.

He put up a hand to take off his mask and hood. He wanted to talk with no barriers. Her voice made him pause, hand in mid-air.

"Don't. Don't take that off." The last thing she wanted to see was Barry's face, his boyish stupid adorable face, in that suit. He stopped.

"Iris, I'm so-"

"Don't." She practically growled it at him. "Don't." But her voice broke the second time. She was so sick of crying recently, but all the same tears were starting. She turned and walked quickly away, going to the door leading downstairs. She made sure it was locked and closed it after her, just to make sure he got the point.

To Barry, it was loud and clear. He sat on a nearby chair, facing away from the security camera and the door.

After he'd heard Oliver was dead, all he'd wanted to do was run. Run away from the pain. Run away from the truth. But now he felt sapped of all energy and strength. He felt crushed into his seat. He waited until he had the drive to get up and leave. It took a very long time.

The problem with not running was that the tears didn't fly off into the wind.

Instead, they trickled under his mask and down his face.


	11. Chapter 11

_Finally a chapter for you guys! Life and canon are kicking me around at the moment. Don't panic, I am back to writing and maybe we'll get these two together again! Hope you enjoy a lovely father/daughter angst chapter. Thanks for reading as always. And again and again thank you for the lovely comments and support! (guest Brenda, looking at you and several others!) I love you guys! _

**Chapter 11**

When Joe headed into the kitchen the next morning, he was startled as Iris spoke from the far corner where she had been leaning against the fridge.

"How long have you known?"

Joe wasn't a cop for nothing. He recognized danger when he saw it. And Iris looked dangerous. She was leaned up against the fridge, unnaturally still. Her voice had been almost deadly soft. The look she leveled at him would have scared almost anyone else. Joe swallowed but returned it.

"Known, what, baby?" The last thing he needed to do was confess to knowing the wrong thing. At this point, he had a lot of secrets.

Iris pushed away from the fridge and walked up to the table. Joe stood his ground on the other side. "How long have you known Barry is The Flash?"

Joe stared at her for a moment. Damn. He'd been hoping it was about Barry's feelings. "Did he tell you?"

She glared at him. "I figured it out. Your daughter is smart, Dad."

He nodded. "Yes. Yes she is."

"So?" They looked at each other a moment. She slowed her speech down for the question this time. "How long have you known?"

He breathed out a huge breath, preparing for battle. "Almost the beginning."

It was like putting a match in gasoline. "You've known that long, and you wouldn't tell me?" Her voice was already up several decibels and threatening to climb higher.

Joe put up his hands in a peacemaking gesture, but it looked more like she had pulled a gun on him. "I was trying to keep you safe."

"I don't believe you." She spat the words at him. "I think you can't let go. I think you think I'm still five and you get to decide everything about my life. This is just like when I wanted to join the academy. I think you have a problem, dad!" Her voice rose to a yell as she pointed an accusing finger.

"Yeah, I've got a problem!" Joe's voice now matched hers. "I've got a problem with maniacs with crazy powers running the streets! I have a problem with the danger that is constantly surrounding my family! I have a problem every time I let him go out, but I let him do it! This is not about me having a problem controlling your life, this is about me wanting you to be able to _live_ it!" His voice had easily reached hers in decibel level. He stopped to calm himself down, turning away for a moment and breathing heavily. When he turned back, she continued to stare him down on the other side of the table.

"I don't think me knowing is suddenly going to put me in more danger than I have already been in, Dad." She was still looking very angry, but her voice was calmer.

Joe pulled out a chair and wearily sat down in it. "Baby, the first time I knew anything about this is when Barry caught a roof about to crush me and Eddie, then unwound a tornado. I had to shoot a bank robber before he killed Barry. The whole thing was pretty terrifying, and that was after we just got him back from a coma I never thought he'd wake up from. Everything I knew about him and the guys he was up against was dangerous. They don't fit into my rules of reality, but the body count sure is real. I wasn't going to put my daughter in the middle of it. I had no idea you'd start a blog and invite danger in the front door." He gave her a look. "But I probably should have known you would." He muttered, trying to get a laugh out of her. She refused to engage.

"Does Eddie know?" The possibility left her nauseous.

Joe shook his head quickly, trying to put her at ease. "No, he was unconscious at the time." He waved a hand carelessly, like it was no big deal. By now he'd seen much worse.

"I still think you should have told me." Her look was mutinous. She was looking very much like she had when she was a teenager. "You don't get to tell me 'no more secrets' and then keep the biggest one. You even told me flat out there was no Streak! You have been lying to me for _months_, and so has Barry!"

Much as he wanted to lay into Barry for not giving him a heads up on this, Joe still jumped in to defend him. "Barry wanted to tell you. He was really pushing for it at the beginning. He told me the best way to get you to stop your blog was to tell you the truth. Then after a while, he stopped pushing for it."

Iris's eyes narrowed. Against her will, she asked. "Why?"

Joe looked up at her from his chair. "I think, he realized how dangerous what he does really is. I think he realized that he still had people he could lose. He doesn't have much of a choice with me, I'm a cop and I'm in this too. I've lost count of the number of times he has saved my butt. But you were not in it automatically. There was no reason to include you and put you at risk. People have been dying, Iris. After his mom, Barry never is going to put you at risk if he can help it. And neither am I."

Iris felt the tiniest bit of softening and fought it. "I'm still mad at you. I don't feel like I can trust you or Barry anymore. _You_ said no more secrets, and then you lied over and over."

Joe looked away. She had a point. "Iris, if you had known who the Streak was when Tony came to Jitters and asked you about him, do you think you could have lied convincingly enough? Keeping you in the dark gave you an edge against anyone asking you once you put your name on that blog." Iris glared at him, annoyed that he too had a legitimate point.

Joe sighed. "Okay, I will apologize for lying to you and keeping secrets. But I will never apologize for trying to keep you safe. That's my job as your dad for as long as I'm alive."

"Are you saying you would still keep something from me if _you_ deemed it correct?" Her tone was incredulous.

Joe gave her a look of complete honesty. "I am saying, I seriously doubt I'll ever have a secret bigger than this. I am saying that if you know about this, you can handle anything. I'm saying it might be hard or dangerous, and I will still do everything I can to protect you both. I still wish you didn't know. But I will also do my best not to lie to you again."

Iris finally relented and sat down at the table across from her father. "Dad, thank you, but that's not good enough." His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you realize how big this is." He waited for her to continue. "You guys have been keeping this from me for months. I have been basically cut out of a huge part of both of your lives. You have lied and kept big secrets. Believe me, it pushes us apart. If you don't see that as a problem, if you don't understand how much this hurts me, and if you can only 'do your best' not to lie to me again, then…well…our relationship is never going to recover or be the same. We have to be able to trust each other, isn't that what you always told me?" She swallowed hard and waited for his reaction.

Joe looked like she'd hit him. He looked up at the ceiling a moment, swallowing too. His voice was shaky when he finally spoke again. "All I have ever tried to do is keep you two kids safe in a very dangerous world."

She leaned forward a bit. "I know, Dad. But it's gone too far. Is keeping me safe worth sacrificing our entire relationship? I don't want that." She put her hand farther out on the table, reaching towards him. "We're both adults now. We can handle more than you think. You have to let go."

There was a moment's pause. Then Joe's hand came to rest on top of hers. "I never really thought about it like that. I'm sorry. I really am. I love you. I don't want to push you away. I…just want you to always be safe." Iris gave him a gentle smile. One thing she loved about her father, he was always the first to admit when he was wrong.

"I love you dad. You have to stop worrying about us."

Joe's eyes were suspiciously bright. "You should know me better than that by now, baby." She nodded, remembering her similar words a few nights ago. They both stood up from the table and hugged. He leaned back and looked her in the eye. "So, are we okay?"

Iris stepped back, crossing her arms. "It's not that simple. I still feel like I can't trust you guys. How do I know when you're telling me everything? Once trust is broken it doesn't just fix in a minute. I just can't believe you've kept this from me for so long."

Joe nodded. "I see. How about a peace offering?"

"Like what?"

He stood up and grabbed his keys. "Get your coat, I'll show you. No more secrets."

* * *

><p>It was a good thing that both of them were off work today. Iris sat in the passenger seat as Joe drove across town. She wasn't quite sure where they were headed. The silence was slightly uncomfortable, as father and daughter tried to establish a new normal.<p>

Joe seemed to be deep in thought as he drove, so it was a bit startling when he suddenly started talking.

"If it makes you feel any better, Barry didn't tell me what he was up to at first either."

Iris looked at him. "He didn't?"

"Nope. I'd already seen what he could do, but he didn't tell me he was out to be a one-man savior of the city. I figured it out pretty early on, but I do kinda wonder if he ever would have actually told me."

Iris stared out the window. It was ridiculous, but it did make her feel a bit better. She had been picturing the two of them as plotting against her; when actually Joe had just found out much sooner simply by being in the right place at the right time and working at the same place as Barry. If her father had been an insurance salesman he might not have put it together either.

"Probably not." She gave him a lopsided grin. "I'm sure he knew how you'd react."

Joe laughed. "Yeah. And I did. I wanted him to just put it away and be normal. It would be safer that way. But the other metahumans, some of them are really nasty. They are nothing that a regular police force can handle. So it falls to Barry. And even though I still worry about him, he _has_ proven he can handle a lot more than I thought he could."

Thoughts of Tony and the brick wall man floated across her mind. She ignored a twinge of worry. "Yeah, he can." She wondered what he was doing now. She wondered what he'd done after she'd left him on the roof yesterday. She wondered if he was okay. She pushed the thoughts away. No. She didn't wonder. She was still angry. But a tiny part of her wished that she were still with Barry in his apartment, listening to his heartbeat and escaping the world.

She broke out of her thoughts and looked around. That was when she realized where they were headed. "Why are we going to S.T.A.R. Labs?

Joe gave her a quick look. "I told you, no more secrets."

* * *

><p>From the early morning hours until mid-afternoon, Central City's citizens suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of a serious amount of good deeds. A wandering toddler was swept from the middle of the road and placed in his startled mother's arms. A man about to be attacked by a dog suddenly found himself a block away. A girl falling from a tree was delivered safely on the ground. A texting teenager stepped into traffic. When he looked up, his phone was in his coat pocket and he was across the street. The grand finale was a family being held hostage in their home suddenly placed into an arriving ambulance, complete with shock blankets for all, while the gunman was cuffed into another arriving police car.<p>

Then, unseen by any except a few startled motorists, a blur headed out of Central City and down the highway.


	12. Chapter 12

_Yay another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it! Hopefully I'll be busy on the next few chapters tomorrow. Have a great weekend! As always, thanks so much for your awesome comments and support! (Cough Brenda :D) _

**Chapter 12**

Iris was already putting things together by the time she and Joe got out of the car. Her jaw tightened and her walk turned into short, clipped, strides as they headed down the hallway to the main lab. By the time they rounded the corner and the room came into view, she was angry all over again.

"-have to be focused on one sand pile for the entire day. What if he's sleeping? How do you even know he's at _that_ one? You could go for weeks changing piles and miss him. Maybe he just plays in those things like a giant sandbox and leaves." Caitlin was saying. She was leaning over a computer monitor as Cisco adjusted the view on it. Harrison was sitting nearby, deep in thought.

"Hey, I know it's a long shot, but we are out of options. This will just be my hobby for a while. Maybe we'll get lucky. He'll be my needle in a sand pile." Cisco leaned back in his chair, grinning at his joke.

"Your hobby?" Caitlin shook her head, smiling. "You mean besides patching suits and building traps for yellow-" She broke off as she suddenly became aware they were no longer alone. She smacked Cisco's shoulder. Both of them spun around, staring at the shortest of the couple that had just entered the lab. Harrison looked up, hiding his surprise. He almost instantly returned his face to his typical unflappable affect.

"Hello, Joe. Welcome, Miss West." Harrison's smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he awaited further information.

Joe ignored the greeting and came in a few steps further. "Okay," He began in a matter of fact tone. "I'm going to need you guys to break out any and all files you have on The Flash and his activities since Barry started this little escapade. Iris needs to get caught up. Oh, and she knows all about it too."

Iris found her voice. Her very angry voice. " Oh my god, you are his team." She glared from Cisco to Caitlin. "You lied to me. I don't _believe_ it."

Cisco eyed her nervously. "Obviously she didn't know _everything_, thanks man." He carefully stood up and shifted behind Caitlin for cover.

Caitlin's eyebrows had shot into the ceiling. "Hi, Iris, how are you?" She gave a weak smile. Iris didn't reply. Harrison remained unperturbed. Joe raised an eyebrow, suddenly aware that there was a story he didn't know.

There was a tense silence.

Joe put up an impatient hand and beckoned with his fingers. "C'mon, let's see the files, I know you've got 'em. You people are scientists, after all. You document everything."

"He has us there." Harrison murmured. His gaze shifted from Iris to Caitlin, who was looking to him for permission. He gave her a nod.

Caitlin walked past them and down the hallway, motioning for Joe and Iris to follow. As they exited the main lab, Cisco called after them.

"Does this mean you won't be bringing us coffee anymore?"

Harrison smiled. "I think that may be what it means, Cisco."

Cisco flopped into a chair. "Man, I knew that was too good to be true."

Caitlin led Joe and Iris down the hall to a small storeroom. Joe looked around as they entered, expecting computer monitors and digital storage. Some file cabinets stood against the opposite wall.

"What, no computer files on this?" Joe asked. Iris was standing behind him with her arms folded.

Caitlin was bending down to the floor, where she removed a false floor piece that revealed a safe. As she put in the combination, she explained. "We started that way, but we know a few too many good hackers. One in particular, not that she'd be a threat. But we can't be too careful. We figured paper would be safest. We keep our studies and scientific information on Barry in the computer systems, but not his cases as The Flash."

Joe looked fairly impressed. Caitlin straightened up with a large stack of files and placed them on the small table. "I'll just go get you a chair." She looked at Iris, who refused to meet her eyes.

Joe gestured to the pile of papers. "Well, you said no more secrets. There you go."

Iris looked at the pile as well. Barry's huge double life, reduced to a stack of files. She almost felt like an intruder, coming here and reading these. She looked at her dad. He was studying her with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Hon, I know this is a lot to take in. But you wanted to know everything. This is the best way I can think of to show you that I'm not going to be keeping secrets from you any more. Just…read the files. It will help you understand."

Iris nodded. "Okay." Caitlin arrived with a comfortable chair, still looking nervous. Iris took the chair, avoiding eye contact still. They left her in the storeroom alone to read. She sat at the table and studied the stack of files. She remembered when she would have sold her soul to get her hands on this much information about The Flash. Long ago, when he was a heroic figure that was so mysterious barely anyone believed in him. Now she knew so much and was about to find out even more. Even though she knew the sensitive information she was now privy to would never be published on her blog, she suddenly felt like a serious journalist.

"Well," she muttered to herself. "This is what a serious journalist does. Get the whole story."

She located the earliest file, all the way at the bottom, and began to read.

* * *

><p>When Joe returned to the main lab, Harrison was waiting for him.<p>

"Did Barry tell her?" He asked.

Joe shook his head. "She figured it out. Don't worry, she may be angry but she's not going to do anything to hurt Barry or what he does."

Harrison nodded. "I'm sure of that."

Joe stepped away and pulled out his phone. He dialed Barry's cell number and waited while it rang. When Barry answered, he sounded out of breath. Joe skipped the preliminary greetings.

"Thanks for the heads up that Iris knew about The Flash. Really appreciated that."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "Sorry, I wasn't really thinking straight after she and I talked."

Joe could only imagine. "Yeah. Well she's at S.T.A.R. Labs now, so I wouldn't show up any time soon if you want to avoid her."

Barry wasn't sure how to answer that. He wouldn't mind seeing Iris, angry as she was, but he was pretty sure she didn't want to see him.

"Don't worry, I'm not in Central City at the moment."

Joe's head came up. "Where are you? Running away isn't going to fix anything you know."

Barry was nodding as he walked. "Yeah, I know. I'm just…clearing my head."

That didn't make Joe feel any better. "You are coming back, right? Like soon?"

"Yeah, I'll be back tonight. Hey don't let her be too hard on Caitlin and Cisco. They were just doing their job."

Joe's forehead crinkled. "All right. Talk to you later."

"Okay, bye."

They hung up. Joe immediately headed for Cisco. "Hey Cisco, I want to talk to you, man."

Barry put his phone back in his pocket and made sure his clothes weren't smoking. He had changed before he left the city and tried not to go too fast. He adjusted his jacket and headed for the visitor's entrance of Iron Heights Prison.

* * *

><p>The more case files Iris read through, the more she felt like an amnesiac regaining little bits of memory. Pieces of information slid into place easily as her interactions with Barry in those first months after his coma and The Flash's activities meshed together.<p>

Things like the freak tornado that destroyed a barn and the fight at Stagg Industries had made the news, but now what truly had happened there made far more sense. She noticed how her father and Barry's activities as The Flash overlapped, with Eddie just dancing around the outside. At least she wasn't the only one left out. Joe was right; Barry had saved him so many times. There was no way Joe wouldn't have found out. He had just happened to be at the barn the first time Barry showed up as The Flash, chasing the same bad guy.

She read about the robbery she and Barry had been present for and kicked herself again for not realizing at the time that it had been Barry who had saved the guard. It now made so much sense that she had found him out by a dumpster. But in her defense, she thought, finding him passed out didn't really lend itself to thinking he was a secret crime fighter. Barry had always had the desire to do more than he could. She wished he'd just told her right then. She had to suppress a giggle as she read Cisco's entry on Barry's glucose levels, and his precise taco intake calculations. She shook her head, remembering her conversation with Barry after a movie one night. _"How are you not fat?" "I've been…jogging." _It should have made her angry to think that he had stepped away from her as she was on the phone with Eddie to apprehend a man shooting at police from a car, but instead she actually felt a bit happy that he had deemed saving policeman's lives so important, even if he was out with his best friend. Those policemen had families too. Still, it hurt to think she was right there and didn't know. Wasn't allowed to know.

As she read the case about the strange gas attacks she remembered her worry and stress visiting her father in the hospital. Her father who may well be dead if not for Barry's speed and Caitlin's antidote. She made a mental note to thank Caitlin. The thought of her father dead gave her chills. She also got chills realizing that there was now a secret prison under the very building she was in that held dangerous metahumans. She had wondered where they disappeared to, never to return and wreak havoc.

Iris couldn't help but be affected by the case involving Leonard Snart and the cold gun. Not only had he taken a hit meant for her father (again), but also Barry's natural concern for the people around him had been exploited. He had been unable to save the man in the theatre. She knew how he must have felt. She smiled a bit, remembering. Barry had always wanted to help others, even when they were kids.

However, she did find herself quite annoyed that Felicity from Starling City knew more about this than she had. She had really liked Felicity. But the fact that she was in the know far sooner than Iris felt humiliating…and in truth, she was a bit jealous and threatened. Those were new emotions, considering she had been pushing Barry to consider Felicity as girlfriend material. Wow. Her feelings about Barry really _had_ changed. She spent a few minutes pondering that before she went to the next file. She still liked Felicity as much as she did before, but she really didn't want her to have Barry. She hoped Felicity had found love elsewhere. She deserved it. But not Barry. She thought a moment, picturing Felicity and Oliver Queen together at Jitters. They had looked really nice together. It was a thought…she pushed those feelings aside.

The case file on Bette Sans Souci, human bomb, broke her heart. She couldn't imagine being hunted, cut off from everyone she knew. She also couldn't imagine never being able to touch another person again. She felt for Barry, unable to help or save Bette, and then having to run her body away from the city to spare it her detonation. She remembered Barry coming to talk to her that night. He had told her he couldn't help someone, and she had died. She remembered how off he'd seemed. The day before he had also visited her for the first time as The Flash, trying to talk her out of writing about him. Now his reaction to her dedication, saying maybe they shouldn't be around each other for a while, made perfect sense. He had been running. She had sensed a lot of unsaid things that night. He was afraid. Afraid of losing her too, afraid that her blog would draw people to her and put her in danger. The one thing he and Joe had attempted to keep her out of. She laughed, shaking her head a bit. Didn't they know her at all? She didn't know how not to put herself there, not if she was doing something worth it. She folded up the file on Bette and placed it gently on the stack of read files, bidding goodbye to a woman who deserved so much more. She felt the deep desire to help people like Bette out there. Somehow. She also took note of Barry's newfound skills of running up buildings and on water. That had been the first night she'd laid eyes on The Flash. She blushed a bit when she remembered that he must have smiled at her, as she'd thought. She squashed those memories for now and then moved on.

Tony's file was next. Iris couldn't believe how many broken bones and injuries Barry had sustained just in that one case. Part of her was almost glad she and Barry hadn't been talking at that point. She might have really put herself in danger if she had known any of this. She would have hunted Tony down herself. She'd seen Barry take too much abuse at Tony's hands in their school days. And still, his focus had been on her. Still, he had come when she messaged him, and run straight out to handle any perceived threat to her. She smiled fondly before she remembered she was angry. Her Barry, always so protective. She was now really glad she'd had the chance to deck Tony. Too bad she couldn't do it again. Wait, maybe she could. It looked like Tony was locked up downstairs. Good.

The next file was marked "Blackout". She frowned, unable to think of much she'd heard about that could apply to that title. Except for maybe the citywide blackout that had inadvertently helped The Clock King. She looked at the date. It was the same as the day she and her father had been taken hostage, and Eddie had been shot. Sudden distress filled her, even though she knew this case must be over and done with. She almost hesitated to open it. She was sure that anything that prevented Barry from coming to help, especially with her and her father in the mix, had to be very bad indeed. Finally she opened the folder.

The story unfolded itself. Barry had lost his powers? She read on, very disturbed. She remembered seeing him that night before everything had happened. She had been sure The Flash could protect Central City. And Barry's reply... _"What if he can't?_ _What if he's gone…Or maybe he's just done, or maybe it's like, whatever he could do before, he can't do anymore."_

Righteous anger about being lied to started to be replaced by deep sympathy and sadness. No wonder Barry had looked the way he had that night. As angry as she was about his keeping it a secret, she had never wished for his powers to go away. They just seemed to amplify who Barry already was. He must have been devastated. She read on. And it got worse.

Trapped in S.T.A.R. Labs, powerless, and desperate to get to her and Joe. She blinked away tears. He had said it couldn't be helped, but that was such an understatement. As she read, she dimly registered slight shocks through the distress. Tony was dead? Barry had allowed himself to be electrocuted to regain his powers? And of course, she thought to herself, he would try to talk to this guy first. Of course he would. She'd expect nothing less from her best friend. She took note of the courage all present had displayed, especially Caitlin for turning on the power, much as she was afraid to, and Dr. Wells, offering himself up to save the others. By the time she read about Barry's final confrontation with this metahuman, and how he had immediately left to come to her and Joe, she felt guilty that she had ever been disappointed in The Flash not arriving that night. Of course, he had shown up after at the hospital, to apologize. She hadn't really been that upset, she had handled the problem. But now she remembered how upset _he'd_ seemed, promising to never be late again. _"You're worth being on time for."_ She put the file down and sat back in her chair. "Barry, " She sighed in frustration. "How am I supposed to stay mad at you?" She _was_ mad. She had a right to be mad. But seeing his side of events was making that so much harder.

The next file she knew quite a bit about already. She took in the blow-by-blow account of the fight between The Flash and The Arrow. That must have been quite a sight. Barry had been right, he could have killed The Arrow when he'd yanked the grappling arrow out of the building and let him fall. What also impressed her were the methods used to cure Barry after he was "whammied", and the tactics and strategy used by The Arrow to contain Barry. That couldn't have been easy. She noticed an interesting fact: Every single reference to The Arrow was listed as just that. Nowhere in the file did it say who The Arrow might actually be. There were also a few other people mentioned, but not by name. Interesting. She wondered if any of them actually did know The Arrow's true identity. She was pretty sure Barry had to, somehow.

The last file in the stack was marked with a date in December. She opened it up and was astounded. Barry had fought with his mother's killer? Now she felt really in the dark. All this had been going on in his life and he hadn't told her. _"I guess there are still things you don't know about me." _He could have told her right then. All that pain inside him and he'd just held it in. She read on, and became more upset. Especially when she read about the trap set for the killer, and the fact that Eddie and her father had been there. Barry had showed up later, thank goodness, or she may have been without a father and a boyfriend. Or a best friend for that matter…she had to read twice the lines that described the burning man's appearance. The burning man! She'd been looking for references to him for a bit now too. Right around that time was when Barry had confessed his feelings for her and thrown her into a tailspin. But his whole life had also been turned on its head. His words came back to her: _"I just couldn't lie to you anymore."_

But he _had_ lied. He'd still been lying. She fought back angry tears as she thought about the night before. He might have wanted to keep her safe, but ultimately that wasn't his call to make.

Iris put the file away and sat back in her chair. December seemed so long ago now. After that, The Arrow had been reported dead, and Barry had sunk into his grief. She had researched his story and talked him into meeting with her each week. And things had gone out of control from there. She couldn't believe so much had happened in such a short space of time. It felt like forever ago that they had had their first scheduled meeting on the rooftop; his chair in the corner, her so excited to get any kind of answers to personal questions.

But she wasn't so excited now. Remembering his words made everything difficult. _"I'm afraid she would hate me." _

Did she hate him? She found it unlikely. But she was truly angry. And truly hurt. That just didn't go away immediately. She thought about them, in the alley while he was unconscious. She wondered if it would have been better or worse if she'd just peeked under his mask right then.

Remembering the night he was attacked, getting him to S.T.A.R. Labs and dealing with Cisco and Caitlin, who knew so much more than they let on, made her feel foolish and embarrassed. And from there she went straight to anger. She swallowed and hit the table. She was just going in endless circles. Maybe she always would.

She sat in the storeroom and wondered if anything could be salvaged.


	13. Chapter 13

_Happy Tuesday! Have a chapter before an episode tonight! :) I really enjoyed several bits in this, so I hope you will too. I am already working on the next chapter, and it's going to be a whopper. Your reviews and support mean the world to me, thank you so much! (Brenda, don't break your phone, lol.) Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy! :)_

**Chapter 13**

"Hi." Caitlin was peeking in the barely opened door. "Doing okay?"

Iris couldn't bring herself to smile. But she nodded and tried to look slightly friendly. "I'm done. Thank you." She pushed the pile of files across the small table.

Caitlin looked a bit wary, but she came in and picked up the files. As she put them back in the safe and secured it behind the false floor again, she searched for something to say. Finally the look on Iris's face was too much. She stood up. "I'm sorry."

Iris nodded. She didn't have to ask what for. "It's okay. You were just doing your job. I know it wasn't your secret to tell." But she still couldn't look at Caitlin.

Caitlin stood awkwardly a moment, and then left the room. Iris wondered if she was going to get her father, but a minute later Caitlin returned with another chair. She maneuvered it into the room, moving carefully into the cramped space. Iris shifted her chair to allow her some room. Caitlin shut the door and sat down.

There was a small silence. Finally Caitlin spoke first. "It doesn't make it better, does it? Knowing all of it?"

Iris shrugged. "It helps. But it also makes me feel worse."

Caitlin nodded. "For my part, I am sorry. I don't like lying to a friend."

Iris raised her eyebrows. "We're friends?"

Caitlin nodded. "Yes. I consider you my friend. I'm actually so glad you know now. It's hard not having another girl to talk to." She smiled timidly.

Iris finally smiled a bit. "Thanks Caitlin."

Hesitantly, Caitlin asked. "If you don't mind, was it the night you came here? How did you find out?"

Iris gave her a look. "The heart monitor."

Caitlin's face got red. Caitlin was nothing if not cautious. But her caution had given it away. "Of course." She mumbled. "Cisco will never let me hear the end of this."

Iris shrugged again. "Cisco has plenty to be embarrassed about."

"Oh I'm not going to _tell_ him." Caitlin was shaking her head. "No way. No need to give him extra ammo."

Iris looked at her in surprise. Then her face spontaneously cracked into a smile. Caitlin answered it, and before they knew it they were both laughing.

"Then I won't tell him either." Iris was still smiling when she asked her next question. "Do you think he should have told me?"

Caitlin looked at her a moment, her smile fading. "Well, yes he should have told you." Iris nodded in agreement. "But…" Caitlin's voice faded away. She shrugged.

Iris couldn't stop her eyes narrowing. "But what?"

Caitlin shrugged again, looking a bit helpless. "What we do here is actually pretty dangerous sometimes. I mean yes, for Barry mostly, but sometimes for us too. You've read the files. I haven't told my parents about this. I'm pretty sure Cisco hasn't either. The more people that know about this the bigger chance Barry has of getting exposed."

Caitlin could see Iris was gearing up to interrupt, so she rushed through her next sentence. "I know you'd never give him away." Iris sighed and closed her mouth.

"But if people know who he works with and who he cares about, they could use it as leverage. In a completely rational way it makes sense to only tell the fewest people you absolutely have to."

Iris was looking a bit hurt. "You mean you agree with it?"

"No, but I see how it happened." Caitlin gave her an apologetic look. "But I never agreed with him meeting you as the Flash. That's just reckless and foolish."

Iris could feel her cheeks burning. Great. "How much do you know about that?"

"Only the bare minimum. The rest I've only guessed at. I've spent some time turning down the comm. volume too, Cisco doesn't need to know any of that." Caitlin was doing her best to show she'd been discreet. She hadn't heard the majority of their meetings, but she had heard a few, like the one before he attacked Eddie. She pressed her lips together. "Did he come to talk to you, after The Arrow died? He turned his comm. off that night. He almost never does that. Almost."

Iris nodded. She was quick to realize that Caitlin knew a lot less than she had been worried about. She was glad about that. Their regular visits on the rooftop and the night he'd come to tell her that The Arrow was alive were special memories, and she certainly didn't want to think of others listening in. "Thanks, Caitlin." The other woman nodded.

Iris studied her a minute. "If you suddenly had these super powers, and you had people you were close to in your life, would _you_ tell them?"

Caitlin considered the question. "If I was worried it might get them hurt I think I might…." She stopped in mid-sentence, staring at nothing on the wall. Her face was suddenly full of anguish. Her voice came out a whisper, almost talking to herself. Iris had to strain to hear it. "Maybe he was protecting me." She tried to blink back tears.

Iris scooted her chair closer to Caitlin, who was wiping her eyes. "Okay, what's going on?"

Caitlin's story came out. Ronnie was the burning man. She and Cisco had tracked him down, but he wasn't the same. Then he had turned up at S.T.A.R. Labs in time to defend Barry. And told her not to look for him again. Iris was busy processing the fact that the burning man was Caitlin's dead fiancé, but she still didn't miss the pain Caitlin felt being told by her fiancé that he didn't want her to find him. Caitlin cried a bit as she talked. Iris put a hand on her shoulder, offering her a tissue from her purse.

"Maybe he _is_ protecting you." Iris said when the story was done. "Do you think he's dangerous?" Caitlin hesitated, hating to admit it, but nodded.

"He's not the same Ronnie he was. Maybe he thinks he'll hurt me." Caitlin looked at Iris.

"You're actually lucky."

Iris raised her eyebrows. "Why, because I have a best friend who won't even tell me when he wakes up from a coma with super powers?" Her tone was wry.

Caitlin shook her head seriously. "No, because when your best friend got powers, he stayed the same Barry he always had been. It changed what he could do, not who he was."

Iris didn't have a reply to that. Maybe Caitlin was right.

"Caitlin, I think you and I need to go to lunch together really soon."

Caitlin smiled. "I'd like that."

Iris nodded, smiling too. It was definitely nice having another woman to talk to.

* * *

><p>Joe grilled Cisco for extra information and got new details about the night Barry had come in with a concussion. He was shaking his head by the time Cisco's story was done.<p>

"She was out there with him before you even got there?" Cisco nodded. Joe rolled his eyes. "I don't know why I even bothered. Those two can't stay away from each other, not even when one doesn't know it's the other."

Cisco laughed. "I think I remember thinking something like that. By the way, your daughter can be really tough when she wants to be. She was pretty awesome."

Joe's face melted into a look of fatherly pride. "Yes, she can be. Hope she'll forgive Barry at some point. I never meant to put distance between them."

Cisco gave him a look. "What did you think was gonna happen?"

Joe had no answer to that. He moved to the computer Cisco had been working at. "Okay, so tell me what you've got on our elusive metahuman."

Cisco allowed the change in topic. "Well, we don't have enough to go on to lock into a particular concrete company. So I've re-tasked a satellite to zoom in on the main seven in the area. One day at a time I'll monitor a single sand pile at one of them. I've got a program that will alert me if there is movement. If he's pressing against a sand pile to hide himself, but then moves away we should know it. Or vice versa."

Joe frowned. "But only if he's at that particular sand pile you're focused on."

Cisco rolled his head in a circle. "I didn't say it was a sure thing. There's nothing about the sand sample that can narrow it down. It's too general, there's nothing unique about it. These seven companies each have a large pile of that kind of sand, though. It's the best we can do without more information."

Joe nodded. "Okay. Eddie and I have been re-interviewing store owners and employees of the places that got robbed looking for a connection. Nothing yet, but the owner of the first one that got robbed is coming in tomorrow. If there were anything personal about the thefts, he would have started at a place that meant something to him first. Keep your fingers crossed."

Cisco looked up at him. "Dude, you get me a connection between the jewelry store and any one of these concrete companies and it would help a lot."

"I'll do my best. Hey, thanks for looking out for both my kids the other night. I appreciate it."

Cisco's face registered pleasant surprise. "Sure thing. That's what I do."

At that moment the sound of rolling chairs echoed down the hallway, and Iris and Caitlin appeared. Both men immediately noticed that the two women seemed on better terms. Cisco didn't move further away as the chairs were placed at their usual places, but he didn't move closer either.

Joe moved towards Iris. "You ready to go?" Iris nodded. But she looked at Caitlin instead of the door. "Next week?" Caitlin smiled and nodded. Iris returned it in full.

Iris headed towards the door, Joe following. Cisco gave Caitlin a look clearly asking how she'd ended up on better terms with Iris. Caitlin just shrugged and smiled a bit smugly. Cisco's face settled into grumpy lines.

That was when Iris's voice, raised slightly due to the increased distance, interrupted their nonverbal exchange. "Oh and Cisco, I might still bring you some coffee." She gave him a friendly look.

Cisco's huge grin reflected his gratitude at her forgiveness. "Thanks Iris."

"Sure." She gave him a smile in return as well, then left ahead of her father, who lingered long enough to give both of them a double thumbs-up before he hurried to catch up with his daughter.

Cisco jumped out of his chair, fists in the air. "Oh yeah! We're in! Forgiveness is sweet!"

Caitlin giggled a little, before a look of concern crossed her face. "I sure hope she saved a little of that for Barry."

Cisco made a face. "Yeah. If she hasn't he might wish he was up against Girder again by the time she's done with him."

* * *

><p>Joe drove home while Iris sat deep in thought. After a few minutes he glanced her way. "Sooo, seems like there are a few details you've left out. Like how you even put together that Barry is The Flash. How did you do that? And what's this about Cisco and Caitlin lying to you?"<p>

Iris rolled her eyes. "Please Dad; don't pretend you didn't talk to Cisco. You already know."

Joe waggled his head in agreement. "True. But I find it interesting that you didn't tell me anything about it in the first place." He gave her a pointed look.

Iris returned it. "What are you saying?" She already knew, but she pretended not to.

Joe assumed a look of slight superiority, even though the corners of his mouth kept twitching. "I'm just saying, you're being pretty hard on Barry and me for keeping secrets when it's obvious you've been keeping them too."

Iris knew it was coming, so she had her own counter attack ready. "Are you ready to compare the size of your secrets to the size of mine? Because I can tell you, you'll lose every time there."

Joe couldn't restrain his smile any more. It broke free, but then he gave her a serious look. "No, I don't want to compare. But seriously hon, I think you understand that sometimes it seems like the best option to keep something quiet, because you don't realize later it's going to blow up in your face."

Iris sighed. He was so right. She'd had her own secrets. Her father and she had kept secrets from each other, many involving The Flash, ironically. Secrets hurt. But it just felt so one-sided between her and Barry. She hadn't told him about her interactions with The Flash, but he'd known anyway. His secrets had been pretty huge. She still got angry thinking about it.

She spent the rest of the ride home quiet. As they pulled into the driveway, Iris finally spoke again. "Dad, I'm still a bit mad at you."

Joe had expected it. "I know."

Iris looked his way. "I don't think you do. I'm mostly over you keeping it from me. Mostly. I've seen why you did. But part of me is still mad you didn't let me join the academy. I should have been able to make my own choice there."

That was unexpected. Joe's eyebrows were high in surprise. He couldn't think of a thing to say to justify himself that he hadn't already said. Maybe he _had_ been over the line there, even if his fear for her safety had been his top reason. He waited for her to continue.

"But that's okay because I think I would have been a good cop, but I _know_ I'm going to make a great journalist. And I am going to help people." Her voice held such fervent enthusiasm that Joe found himself smiling with pride again. His kids, out to help people and save the world.

"You know honey, I really think you will." He tried to show her he really believed it.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Dad."

* * *

><p>As always, Henry Allen's face brightened immediately when he saw his son seated on the other side of the glass. He sat down and picked up the phone. Barry followed suit.<p>

"Hey, slugger! How are you doing?"

Barry couldn't help but smile back. "Okay, I guess." His dad waited with a fond smile still on his face. It was obvious he could tell his son was upset. Barry laughed slightly, and then grew serious. "I told Iris how I felt about her. And… some other things have come out. A lot has happened lately." Barry leaned his head against the partition that separated him from the next booth and closed his eyes. "I'm so tired."

Henry could easily see what Barry meant by "tired", and it wasn't physical. His smile faded, replaced by one of concern. "How can I help, son?"

Barry just opened his eyes and looked at him for a moment. Finally he lifted his head and readjusted in his chair. "What was it like for you when I was in the coma, Dad?"

Henry's face changed multiple times in as many milliseconds. Barry could read the emotions playing across his face. Surprise, followed by distress, covered by concern and love. Barry waited. Finally Henry answered. "It was… hard."

Barry could tell that his dad didn't really want to discuss it in detail. But for some reason he needed it. He said nothing, giving Henry no possibility of a new topic to divert him.

Henry finally relented. "It was hell, Barry." His eyes were shadowed with pain that was not usually there. "It was hell."

Barry nodded, pursing his lips to show he understood. He could imagine the darkness that had swept over his father during that time; falsely imprisoned, having lost his wife and now possibly his son. It must have been hard to find a reason to live.

"I never thought about it. What it was like for you. I'm sorry, Dad."

Henry shook his head. "Nothing for you to apologize for, it's not like you got struck by lightning on purpose. I'm just glad to have you back." They smiled at each other.

Henry quickly moved on to other things. "So, how did things go after you told Iris?"

Barry shrugged. "Things were weird for awhile. Then I thought maybe we could work it out, even if we just stayed friends. Then…other things got…revealed." Barry was finding it hard to go into detail without giving too much away. "I don't know, I think things might be over for good between us, even as friends."

Henry was studying his son. "Give it time, Barry. Time can help." Barry nodded. Henry's voice lightened a bit. "You never know, this might be a good thing in the long run." Barry's expression held doubt. Henry put up a hand. "Hear me out. Most of your life, since I ended up in here, you've been wearing masks." Barry's eyes came up to meet his. "I see you come in here and try to pretend it doesn't hurt to see me like this, pretend that everything is fine out there so I won't worry about you. You've pretended for years that you didn't love Iris like you do. But I've always seen through those, and I always will. Because I'm your dad." Henry leaned forward, very intent, staring into Barry's eyes. His voice was suddenly lower and deliberate, enunciating the syllables so Barry would understand the deeper meaning they held. "_I see you through all your masks, son_."

Face slack with surprise, Barry stared at his father with his mouth open. His eyes flicked behind him to the guard leaning against the wall. The guy probably wasn't listening in; on the whole inmate visits must be pretty boring. But they were still supervised visits, and Barry was well aware that their conversations were also recorded like every other inmate visitor conversation. He hadn't spent a lot of time worrying about it the time he'd visited and told his father he'd lost the man in the yellow suit. The authorities hadn't believed him as a child and now he'd just sound like a rambling idiot who didn't need to be taken seriously, same as before.

But he had never felt secure enough to tell his father about his new powers, or his second job as a crime fighter. In addition, he had never been sure if he _should_ tell him, because he didn't want his dad to worry. There was nothing he could do from in here.

And now as he stared into his father's eyes, he realized that Henry already knew. He must have recognized Barry the night he'd come to save Joe with the antidote, in the second he'd looked at him before he'd vibrated his face to cover it. He should have realized his own father would always know him, even under his mask. The light had been brighter there than he usually allowed for people he knew. He had been thinking about other things, like Joe dying.

Then it occurred to him that even if Barry's words had been deliberately vague and nonspecific, his father was well aware of the other thing that had been revealed to Iris. Even behind visiting glass, Henry saw so much. Just like he'd always seen through Barry's excuses not to go to bed as a child. Barry felt like he was ten again. Was there no one close to him he actually _could_ keep this secret from?

Eyes wide, Barry gave a short laugh, leaning back in his chair. "Wow, Dad you really do know everything. Is there anything about me you _don't_ know? Do you know about that cigarette I smoked as a teenager? Do you know about the time I almost burned down Joe's garage with an experiment when I was 14?"

Henry let out a genuine laugh."Well now I do! Glad it was just the one! Those are bad for your health, you know." He winked at his son; leaving it deliberately unclear which event he was referring to. That got a hearty laugh from Barry, and they both laughed again.

When their merriment finally abated, Henry leaned forward again. "So is it safe to assume that all secrets between you and Iris have been revealed? There's nothing left that you're hiding?"

Barry shrugged. "Nothing I can think of. That last one was pretty big."

"Good." Henry's face lit up with enthusiasm. "I mean it; this might be a good thing, Barry." Barry's face was registering doubt, if not outright skepticism. "For the first time in so many years, there are no secrets between you two. Everything is out in the open now. Don't let this opportunity go. You may never get it again."

Now instead of doubt, Barry's face was just showing confusion. "I don't see how there's anything good about this, Dad. She's really angry with me for keeping it from her. I was figuring I should just lie low until it passes and see if she gets over it."

"No." Henry's voice was emphatic. "Don't go into hiding over this, much as you'd like to. Don't make her guess at how you feel or what you want. All the secrets are out in the open now. Lay it on the line. Make it clear what you think is important. If you pull back it will give her the opportunity to move on without you and things will never be the same for you two."

Just the thought of confronting Iris if she didn't want to see him made Barry's stomach knot. He never enjoyed it when she was angry with him, and this was by far the worst it had ever been. "I don't know, Dad. Are you sure?"

Henry played his ace card. "Barry, when I first met your mom, she had plenty of guys around her who would have done anything to get a date with her. They saw her as beautiful. They saw her as a catch. _I_ saw the woman I would love for the rest of my life. She was smart and kind and so much fun to be with. I had two options: I could let her know I was interested and risk rejection, or I could melt away and never tell her how I felt. I figured I should go for it. So I put myself out there, and I let her know how much she meant to me. She was the one I wanted. She still is. I was lucky enough for her to return my feelings." Henry's eyes were soft with memories. Barry swallowed. "Don't make Iris wonder if she's that important to you, if she really is. You need to go talk to her."

Despite the nervousness the idea created in him, Barry could see his father was right. Telling Iris he loved her had been a similar thing, and he'd managed to do that. After everything he'd been through with Iris, the last thing he wanted to do was let his fear take away any chance he might have at putting things right between them. He exhaled a huge breath, running his hand over his eyes. "Okay, but what if she never wants to see me again? What if she hates me forever?" He felt so young and unsure all of a sudden.

Henry's smile held gentle laughter that he didn't verbalize. "Somehow I doubt that. But if she told you to leave her alone, you would. You'd respect that. Because that's who you are. But don't run away before you know." Barry nodded, meeting Henry's eyes to show he understood.

Henry wanted more than anything to hug his son. Times like this were when he hated that visiting glass more than usual. He held Barry's gaze with his own. "You have been given a beautiful gift, son. If I know you, and I do, you won't waste it."

Barry understood the double meaning in his father's words and accepted it gratefully. He couldn't stop himself from putting a hand up to the glass so his father could put his up too. "Thanks, Dad. I'll try to make you proud."

Henry shook his head. "You already have. I'm so proud to have you as my son."

Both felt the echoes of an earlier visit as they kept their hands pressed to the glass. And for just a moment, it felt like the glass was no longer separating them.


	14. Chapter 14

_Well, after this last ep I came running back to this fic. Not that I was very far from it, lol. This chapter has some angst, but I find it more tolerable than a love triangle. Or quadrangle. Hopefully you'll enjoy it! Always always, thank you so much for your wonderful reviews and support, it means the world to me. :) _

_Shout out to guests Brenda (I'm so sorry! Don't cry under your desk! *hugs*), Luna (You are a doll, your multiple lovely reviews make me so happy and I have been a dork and kept forgetting to include you here. So glad you like it! :D ) and Elif from Turkey (You are a sweetheart, so glad you are enjoying it! Don't apologize for your English, you are awesome!) _

_Thanks for reading! Please note the disclaimer at the end of the chapter. :)_

**Chapter 14**

It was much later that night that Iris found herself sitting on the couch staring in the direction of her computer, but really at nothing. She had placed her phone far away in case Barry tried to call or text her, but she needn't have bothered. She hadn't heard anything from him since she left him on the rooftop the previous night. It felt like twice that much time had passed. It had been a very long, emotional day.

Iris had been vacillating between anger and acceptance for most of the afternoon and evening. Just when she thought she might be able to get past it, some tiny thought would spiral her back into anger. Joe had been smart enough to recognize this and keep an extremely low profile. Even now she was pretty sure he had gone out to pick up some dinner simply so he could be out of the house for a bit. He'd been walking on eggshells since they arrived back at the house, ever since he had brought up the possibility of brownies and got his head bit off for it.

Brownies had just reminded her of Barry, and thinking of Barry was upsetting one way or another. Iris couldn't decide what she wanted. She wanted to see Barry, but she wanted to yell at him. She was angry at him but she hurt thinking about him hurting. She sighed in frustration. She remembered when they were kids, after the minor argument or imagined slight, he would usually come to apologize first. She would then throw stuffed animals at his head when he peeked around the door to her room, which usually led to laughter and forgiveness on both sides.

If only things were that simple now.

She had spent some time updating her blog. The Flash sightings were pouring in for today alone. She was pretty sure she knew what that meant. It just upset her even more to see proof that _he_ was upset. Then she'd become angry and wasn't even sure why that time. Now she was just pretending to do some work, because all she could do was think, try not to cry, become angry and then start thinking all over again.

She was just wondering if she should just give up on dinner and go to bed early when a sudden gust of wind delivered a small folded piece of paper to her laptop keyboard, which was seated on her lap. She knew exactly how it had arrived there, even if she hadn't been able to see him do it. She stared at the note for a moment before finally picking it up and unfolding it. It had one sentence on it:

**_Please hear me out._**

Iris tilted her head, thinking for a moment. And a moment is all she had. Because a new folded note gusted onto her keyboard again.

**_I know you're angry._**

That was quite an understatement. Iris opened her mouth to announce it to the room at large when yet another note breezed in.

**_We really need to talk._**

Iris shouted in the direction of the front door. "Barry! Stop it!" She tried really hard not to let on that she was torn between anger and laughter. Hopefully the laughter didn't come through. She watched the front door and waited.

It popped open a crack, and Barry's head peeped in. It was obvious to her that he was scanning the room for incoming projectiles. She smirked a bit. Obviously he hadn't forgotten the stuffed animals either. She waited.

Once he was sure she wasn't going to throw anything at him, Barry stepped in all the way and closed the door behind him.

The smirk on Iris's face faded. She hadn't realized what he was wearing.

He had his suit on, with the hood and mask off to show his face. She wasn't sure what part of it was more unsettling: Seeing the face of her best friend in that suit, or the fact that he was standing in a brightly lit room wearing it. She was so used to seeing it on him in darkness and shadow. She swallowed as she took it in. No, it was definitely seeing his face in that suit that was the worst. She'd known it, even back on the rooftop. Any amusement that had existed disappeared. She watched him as he approached and took a seat on the far side of the couch, giving her space. He looked determined and awkward all at the same time. She said nothing. She wasn't going to make it easy on him.

Barry sat with his hands clasped together in his lap, assessing her mood. The look she gave him was almost a dare to convince her he deserved forgiveness. For a brief second, he almost disregarded his father's sage advice and bolted. But he swallowed down the fear and started talking.

"Look, Iris. I know you're mad at me, and I know I deserve it." Her look clearly agreed with him. He looked at his hands, because looking at her angry face made him lose his resolve. "I'm so sorry I lied to you. I know I've been lying to you all this time. But believe me when I tell you that I only wanted to keep you safe. I never meant to hurt you."

She shook her head at him. "Do you think I'm that weak? That you have to protect me all the time?" He was already shaking his head too.

"No, but it's dangerous. Metahumans are dangerous. I thought I could keep both parts of my life separate and that it would be better."

His last sentence infuriated her. "Better? Better?!" She put her computer aside with far more force than necessary. "How could it be better? I thought we told each other everything, Barry. You kept this huge part of your life from me. You shut me out!" By now her voice was raised and she had jumped to her feet. "How could you just shut me out like that, like I don't matter to you?" She was finally yelling.

She expected Barry to look sheepish and ashamed. She half expected him to start apologizing endlessly. What she didn't expect was a suddenly angry Barry on his feet as well. She didn't expect to suddenly have to look up at him, and she certainly didn't expect what came out of his mouth next. Barry's face was angry and pained as he yelled too.

"What difference did it make, you'd already shut _me_ out with Eddie!"

The silence was blaring. They were both speechless, mouths opened in surprise. Barry looked just as shocked by what he'd said as Iris did. They were so busy staring at the other that neither noticed Joe peek through the windows of the front door and decide he'd be better off eating his dinner in the car.

Iris held back angry tears. "Don't you dare use Eddie as an excuse! You've always been my best friend, even when Eddie was in the picture!"

Barry sighed and sat back down, shaking his head. "It's not an excuse. But everything changed when I woke up. I was different. You were different. Suddenly you had a boyfriend and I felt shut out of your life, like you'd moved on when I was in the coma."

He could see her opening her mouth to argue. "It's okay, I was in a coma for nine months and you thought I was gone for good. I get it. I wasn't mad; I wasn't trying to hurt you back. I just… we told each other everything and now I wasn't sure what I should say. I still wanted to tell you. I thought about it a lot. Until…" He stopped.

"Until Bette died." He looked up at her in surprise. She sat back down too. He nodded.

"Yeah. But also, we talked on the roof for the first time. And you were doing it for me." He gave her look that told her how much it had meant to him. "You were trying to help me regain my faith. And after you told me that, I wasn't sure what I should do then. I still wanted you to stop writing. It was dangerous. But it meant so much that you believed in me. And you wanted to give others hope, just like I did. How could I take that away from you? Then it just snowballed and got out of control."

Iris couldn't argue with that. The look on her face must have softened, because Barry seemed to be encouraged and kept going. "Iris, the truth is you feel kept out of this secret, but really, I couldn't keep you out. Everything with Tony, your blog, The Arrow, you helped give me my name as The Flash! You believed in me when no one else did. I never _could_ keep you out. You were always there. I just…never could stop coming to see you as The Flash."

He shrugged, looking like he'd run out of words.

Iris was having a hard time holding onto her emotions by now. She looked at him, slouching in his red suit, and sighed. She'd known seeing him in his suit without his mask would make it harder to be angry. But she still was. She shook her head. "It just hurts, Barry, to know that I was on the outside with all of this. And when I feel the hurt, I get angry about it. I don't know if I can let it go. I don't know what to do." He looked at her, and she could see the worry in him. That she'd never truly forgive him, and they would drift apart. She shook her head again, helplessly. "I'm so sorry Barry, but even now I'm just angry and I feel like I want to hit you."

Barry's eyebrows went up in surprise, but then he seemed to consider it. He stood up. "Okay."

Iris looked up from the couch. Her expression was priceless. "What?"

"Hit me. I deserve it."

Iris let out a disgusted sigh and rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to hit you, Barry."

He studied her for a moment. She could almost see the wheels turning. "Iris, I understand you're angry. I would be too. Hit me. You'll feel better. I can take it, I've seen a lot worse by now."

"No!" She was getting angrier in spite of her attempts not to. "That's not going to solve anything!"

"Iris, really. I understand. You feel left out. We were supposed to tell each other everything. All those meetings on the roof, and I never told you. All the lies, all those deceptions. Friends don't do that to each other."

Iris did her best to ignore him. She knew what he was doing, trying to push the right buttons to enrage her. She wasn't going to fall for it. Did he think she was that gullible?

Barry was barely blinking as he tried to goad her, his goal exactly one thing. Finally he hit the right mark. "Did you think we were laughing at you? That night you came to S.T.A.R. Labs while I was hurt? Did you think we had a good old time laughing about it after you left?"

That did it. She knew what he was doing, but she suddenly just didn't care. Memories of that night flooded back. The humiliation of it combined with the reminders of Barry's coma. The realization that _Barry_ had been seriously injured, not just an anonymous hero in a suit, pushed her right over the edge. She leaped to her feet.

"Shut up!" She hit him in the middle of his chest with all the skill she'd acquired since she'd been put in gloves at six years old.

In their childhood, she would have knocked him flat on his back. Now, due to his superior height and leaner, more muscular body that the suit did little to hide, he simply rocked back on his feet a bit. Iris was strong, but Barry was prepared. It was like a fly trying to hit him. Iris barely noticed.

"Shut up! You spend all your time running around fighting killer metahumans and you wouldn't even tell me!" She hit his chest. "You didn't tell me you fought your mother's killer!" She hit him again. "You could have died and I never would have known any of it! You. Could. Have. Died!"

Each word of the last sentence was punctuated with a new blow to his chest. The last one had every bit of power she could put behind it, and she actually heard him involuntarily grunt in pain. That was what stopped her tirade. She looked up at his face. He was looking down at her. Tears rimmed his eyes but didn't fall. He was still just standing there; ready to take another hit if needed. But somehow she knew the tears in his eyes weren't due to physical pain. She became aware that she had tears in her own. She leaned her head on his chest and let her arms drop, a strangled sob escaping her. He stood there, supporting half her weight with his body, solid as a rock.

Minutes passed as she rested on him, struggling to control the tears that flowed. Barry looked down at the top of her head, barely affected by her blows. Well, not in any physical way. His concern, as usual, was more for her. "Feel any better?"

"No." Iris wiped her face with a hand and braced herself with the other one on his chest. It only took a moment for her to realize that consciously or not, she'd put her hand directly over his heart again. She closed her eyes in defeat and let the steady rapid thrumming calm her down.

It was another several minutes before anyone spoke. Finally Barry put his hand over hers. He took it as a good sign that she didn't throw it off. "Iris, I am so sorry I hurt you. I'm so sorry that my being in danger without you knowing upsets you so much. I'm sorry I didn't tell you right away. And I'm sorry I broke your trust." Iris nodded against his chest. It was pretty much what she expected him to say.

"But I'm not sorry that you believed in me and helped name me. I'm not sorry that we talked on the rooftop all those times. I refuse to be sorry that you were there for me when I needed it after The Arrow died, and I will never be sorry that you were the first person I wanted to tell when I heard he was still alive."

Surprised, Iris raised her face to look at his. Despite the pain in his eyes, Barry looked better than he had when he'd arrived. He smiled slightly and stepped slowly away, making sure she was supporting herself as he did. A few steps away from her, he spread his hands out to emphasize his suit. She realized it had been no accident that he had worn it to come see her.

"Iris, there are no secrets left. This is me. No hiding anymore. I'm still your best friend, if you'll have me. I have super powers, and I use them to fight crime and help the city. And I love you. You are important to me. You are the one I want. Forever. If you can forgive me, I still want to be a part of your life. If you can't, I understand." He gave her another small smile and left, giving her no chance to respond.

Iris took several shaky breaths and sat back down on the couch. She rested her face in shaking hands.

Barry leaned back against a tree nearby and tried to steady his breathing. He was truly afraid she would decide she couldn't forgive him. But he'd done what he came to do, and now it was up to her. He put his hood and mask on and streaked down the street, trying not to think about one thing: If he knew Iris at all, she had her thinking face on. That was terrifying.

It was another half hour before Joe quietly slipped out of his car and headed inside with a now very cold dinner for Iris. When he came in, Iris was in her room. He put her food in the fridge and tiptoed to his own, wondering if the angst level was ever going to come back down.

* * *

><p>******DISCLAIMER******<p>

The events of this chapter do not mean that I in any way support or approve of hitting people because you are angry with them. That is abuse. In this case, it seemed like something Barry would do to help Iris work through her anger, and since he has superpowers it is not a typical situation. Plus he had to push her hard to get her to do it, so it was his choice. Don't hit people because you are angry, it never helps anything. However, if you by chance are offered the opportunity by a sweet nerdy hero, whose lightning strike incident gave him abs and put his muscles in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration, well then by all means go nuts. :)


	15. Chapter 15

_Okay this chapter is a whopper in more ways than one. I really hope you enjoy it! You guys are the best! Your comments and reviews are so supportive, I could not ask for better readers! :D Thanks for reading! _

Chapter 15

"He was such a big man, but so quiet. He could go for hours without speaking, and you'd forget he was there. I didn't mind that so much, but when he started acting strangely around the jewelry I had to let him go. I hated doing that." The woman was well dressed, in her fifties, with elegantly coiffed hair. She sat next to Joe's desk with her handbag in her lap, ankles properly crossed.

Joe was seated at his desk, nodding as he took notes in his notepad. Eddie was standing nearby listening in.

Barry was leaning against a nearby file cabinet with his arms crossed, trying to seem less interested than he actually was. He'd run out of work to do in the lab, and neither Joe nor Eddie minded if he spent time listening into their interviews. He studied the woman and wondered if she might actually provide a lead for their chameleon jewelry thief. He made a mental note to check with Cisco for a name that would take less time to say. Anything was better than brick-wall-covered-in-sand-man. Remembering the night in the alleyway led to thoughts of Iris, and the fact that he hadn't heard from her since they talked last night. He ignored the knots of tension in his gut and forced his attention back to the conversation. He'd been repeating the last few steps every few minutes all day.

The woman was looking slightly flustered. "I'm so sorry, this was a year ago and I just didn't think about it when the robbery first happened. It didn't seem connected."

Joe pressed his advantage. "But now you think it is?" She hesitated, and then nodded. "In what way, ma'am?" Her bright eyes dimmed for a moment before she continued. Barry leaned forward to catch every word.

"Well, when I hired Cameron to work in the store, I knew he had no training or background in sales. But he seemed so earnest and willing to learn, even though he was about my age. He was moving on, looking for a new career. So I gave him a chance. He was so grateful; sometimes I think he saw more to my kindness than there was. He always loved the beauty of the jewelry, and he used to compare them to my eyes." She laughed, blushing slightly. Joe smiled, keeping her at ease. Her smile faded. "But after a few months he became…different. He was always quiet, but after I turned him down for an actual date, he went even quieter. He became fascinated with the jewelry. I'd catch him taking them out of the display cases and just holding them. But that is against policy. Too easy to just pocket some, you know." Joe and Eddie were both nodding by now. Barry's brain was in overdrive. "It didn't matter how many times I reprimanded or warned him. He just kept doing it. He would hold them to the light and watch them sparkle. He…worshiped them. He was fixated. It became too uncomfortable, and I had to let him go. I felt bad doing it, but…" Her voice faded away.

Joe glanced at Barry, who gave an almost imperceptible nod and twitch of his eyebrows. Joe got the message and leaned toward the woman. "Ma'am, of the jewelry taken from your store, were any of them ones in particular that Cameron was fascinated with?"

She nodded a bit sadly. "Yes, almost all of them. They were my most expensive pieces, and those take some time to sell. They'd been in the store for a while."

Joe was busy writing again. "Ma'am, do you have any idea where Cameron might be hanging around nowadays? Did he mention anything about…construction sites or concrete companies?" She was shaking her head. Barry's head drooped. "Okay, thank you so much for coming back in, you've been very helpful. Eddie, would you escort her to her car? Thanks." Eddie looked slightly nonplussed to suddenly be an older lady's escort. Nevertheless he offered the lady his arm with a winning smile and headed for the elevator.

Barry pushed away from the file cabinet and approached Joe's computer. Joe was already typing Cameron Mann's first and last name into the database. "Gotcha!" He crowed as he got a hit. "Arrested for assault two years ago, charges eventually dropped. Barry, does he look familiar?"

Barry took a look at the picture, trying to remember the night he'd been slammed against a building. "I think so. It all happened pretty quickly. But what she said about him holding the jewelry makes a lot of sense. I told you, he wants it because it means something to him, not to sell it."

Joe was nodding so fast in agreement he looked like a bobble head. "Yup. I think this might be our meta. Eddie and I will do some background work and see if we can find a connection to a concrete company. We're getting close, Barry. I can feel it."

Barry nodded too, trying to look more excited. Joe gave him a look of understanding and clapped his shoulder. "Hang in there, Bear." Barry said nothing. Joe looked like he wanted to continue, but was interrupted when Eddie stormed back in, looking disgusted.

Joe gave Eddie a questioning look. Eddie did not look like he wanted to share, but leaned forward to do it anyway.

"She just asked me out! Told me my eyes looked like sapphires!" Eddie gave them a look that clearly said the idea was crazy, but Joe and Barry were too busy laughing to notice.

* * *

><p>After getting a grand total of 3 hours of sleep the night before, Iris admitted defeat and called in sick. She felt exhausted, emotionally and physically. She waited for her dad to leave for work before she ventured out of her bedroom. She went to the kitchen for breakfast, and then decided she didn't want any. She meandered back to the bathroom to shower, but didn't feel up to it. Finally she settled onto the couch and did nothing.<p>

She closed her eyes and leaned her head on her hand, thinking about the night before. Again. She had spent most of the night tossing and turning and thinking of nothing else. Barry's revelation about feeling shut out gave her lots to think about. Even though that had never been her intention, she could see how he'd felt that way. It hurt her to think of him hurting, which was one reason she'd been up all night.

The other reasons were many. She was shocked at her own behavior, punching him as she had. She knew he'd told her to, and she knew he'd purposely goaded her into it, but she still wasn't proud of it. She had told Barry that it hadn't helped her feel any better, but after a restless night, she had to admit it had helped to be able to express the anger that she'd been bottling up. Apparently there had been quite a bit of it. The ferocity of her outburst still shook her. She'd only realized as she'd said it that one of the main reasons she was still so angry at Barry was because she had been so unaware of the danger he was constantly putting himself in. It was very real danger, and in many ways she now understood why he and her father had tried to keep her removed from it. But Barry had been and still was running into the middle of it every time. What if something happened to him? What if he was damaged beyond his body's ability to repair? Thinking about him getting killed on one of his early escapades while she was so clueless made her feel ill. It was one thing to imagine a larger than life super hero in a suit risking his life. It was quite another to realize that any danger posed to that hero would also pose danger to her best friend. Any loss of the man in the red suit would affect her deeply and personally, not just in a more superficial way relating to the city. At least now she knew what was going on. But she still wasn't ready to lose him again…

The ping of a text on her phone awakened her much later. It was only then that she realized she'd fallen asleep on the couch. She sat up and stretched out sore muscles, remembering a wish for Barry's heartbeat in her ear as she slept. She had thought the arm of the couch was Barry's chest. She shook it off and checked her phone. Part of her hoped it was Barry, but it wasn't. It was a text from Stacey, wishing her well and telling her to get better soon.

Stacey's text reminded Iris of her coworker's words the other night._ "I believe that when you know someone you really see what's inside them, inside their soul, you know? And then those other things just don't matter at all. If you know what's inside, that's what's important. When I know their soul, I'll always know them."_

Iris rolled her eyes at the memory. Obviously Stacey had never been a best friend with a secret hero who didn't tell her about his powers or the danger _or_ the fact that he was secretly flirting with her behind a mask.

She leaned across the couch to put her phone back on the end table, and as she did she came face to face with the picture Joe kept there. She and Barry were looking at the camera, smiling brightly. Her arm was resting on his shoulder, easy and comfortable. But it was Barry's face that caught her attention. It was so open and kind. Just like it always had been. Even after losing his parents, Barry had always shown such love for others. His final words to her from the night before drifted back. _"This is me. No hiding anymore."_

Iris picked up the picture and settled back onto the couch, staring at it.

She realized how fitting it was that out of all the different ways she could have discovered that he was The Flash, it had been because of his heart. That big, beautiful heart that wanted to help everyone and always had. Maybe that was why she was so obsessed with it all of a sudden. Besides the fact that it reassured her that Barry was still alive, it also spoke of who he was. With or without his mask. Just like his love for her, this secret had never changed him.

He'd told her about his feelings for her instead of telling her he was The Flash. Did that mean anything? When his world turned upside down, Barry reached for the constant in his life: He loved her.

When he'd been plunged into grief over The Arrow, he had many others he could have talked to; she could see that now. He hadn't wanted to talk to them. He had talked to her.

And when The Arrow was alive again, Barry came straight to her.

He was right, she realized. He had never been able to stop coming to see her. She had been very involved in The Flash's story for a while now, even if she wasn't in on all the smaller details.

She remembered the night in his apartment, lying on his chest. She had never wanted to leave. Barry had always been and was still everything to her. Was it worth giving him up forever just so she could hold onto her anger at being unfairly treated, even if it was justified?

Stacey's ridiculous thoughts and the night Barry had been whammied tangled together in her mind. She remembered his angry, disguised voice _"You don't know me! You never did." _The anguish under those words broke her heart now. Because she always _had_ known him, with the mask or without it.

Unbelievably, just like Stacey had said, everything else melted away as Iris looked at Barry. Her eyes were moist as she smiled down at the picture. "I know you." She whispered to his smiling face. "I know you."

Iris hadn't felt this peaceful and happy since the night in Barry's apartment. Everything was clear once more. Suddenly she was energized and full of purpose. She got off the couch and hurried upstairs to shower.

* * *

><p>"So now we have a name and a face but still not a concrete company?" Cisco's groan was loud and exaggerated. "I was hoping for better than <em>that<em>!"

Barry shot him a long-suffering look. "Give Joe a chance. If there's a concrete company in this guy's background he'll find it. Could be any time now."

Cisco sulked in his chair for a moment, but was unable to maintain it. "Fine. But that means from now on you need to have your suit on you at all times. If I get the exact location and he moves, you need to be there in the next few minutes before he disappears. Again."

"What? I don't wear it under my clothes!" Barry could see Caitlin and Dr. Wells in the next room through the glass, shaking their heads and trying not to laugh.

"I don't mean _on you_ on you! I mean with you. At all times. Carry it in a duffel bag or something. Just for a while, until we catch this guy."

Barry rolled his eyes a bit, but agreed. "I just hope I don't get searched any time soon while I'm carrying The Flash's suit in a duffel bag."

Cisco grinned. "Good thing you're friends with a bunch of cops then."

Barry was about to reply when a text on his phone distracted him. His mouth was still open as he raised his phone up to look at it. And then it just stayed open.

The text was from Iris.

**Can you meet me please? At the lake?**

Barry felt his already fast heartbeat speed out of control. His breathing seemed to be in competition, because it sped up too. He was excited. He was terrified. He had no idea what she might have decided.

Caitlin had spotted him frozen on the spot and rushed over. She took in his phone and his pallor, and just said. "Is it from Iris?" He nodded, finally closing his mouth. He handed her the phone so she could see. She read it twice but couldn't decide what if anything it indicated about the sender's mood. "Barry. Barry!" She had to raise her voice to get him to focus on her. "It's okay. Go see what she has to say. You can do this." He met her eyes and she could read the panic in them. He nodded but didn't move. His brain was jammed, paralyzed on the edge of something huge but he had no clue if it was going to be wonderful or terrible.

By now Dr. Wells and Cisco were closing in as well. Caitlin gave Barry a gentle nudge towards the door. He collected himself and started off in that direction, but Cisco's voice cut in.

"Wait! Take the suit."

Barry started to argue, and then decided it was better just to do it. He grabbed a nearby duffel bag and headed towards his suit. Caitlin had a sudden thought. "Oh! Barry did you reply?" She held up his phone. Barry moved to take it from her.

"Suit, Barry." Cisco reminded him.

"And phone." Caitlin helpfully put in.

Unfortunately all they ended up doing was put an already discombobulated Barry into a quandary of which to do first. He stopped, shook his head, and then stood for a moment, unable to make any kind of decision at all. He made a motion toward his suit, and then his phone, and back again. The other three watched him in growing consternation as he repeated the motions. It was like he was stuck in a never-ending loop.

"Barry." It was Dr. Wells this time.

"Whaaat?!" Barry bawled out. His voice was beyond exasperated. He looked at Dr. Wells, his face contorted.

Harrison smiled. "Get your suit." Barry hesitated a brief moment, then shot over to his suit using his speed and was back in a second.

Dr. Wells nodded approvingly. "Now answer the text." Caitlin recoiled from the sudden windstorm as Barry's phone was whipped from her hand and the fastest text in history was sent.

**On my way.**

Barry stood a moment after, looking to Dr. Wells for his next instruction. Harrison repressed a grin. "Now go."

Barry went. Quickly. Caitlin brushed her hair out of her face. "Well, I hope that goes well."

Dr. Wells nodded. "Indeed. His level of distraction could be disastrous. He needs to be able to focus."

Cisco laughed. "That's assuming he can make any kind of words when he gets there. I think his brain has turned to mush."

Cisco's brain was already devising ways to find out how it was going. His eyes darted to the comm. console. Caitlin gave him a threatening look, so he assumed an innocent expression and headed to his own workstation. He plunked down in his chair with a sigh, thinking he probably wouldn't hear anything anyway.

* * *

><p>Iris drove out to the lake before she texted Barry. In the end she was glad she did, because minutes after his reply came, he had already arrived. She barely had time to get her mittens out of the car because her hands were cold. In fact, she was still putting them on when Barry came to a stop several feet from her. They looked at each other across the distance, and even though he wasn't wearing his suit Iris was reminded of his visits to her as The Flash, when he made sure not to get too close.<p>

Now that the moment was here Iris found herself much more nervous than she'd anticipated. This felt like a bigger deal than when she'd blogged about The Arrow and met The Flash on the rooftop so she could convince him to keep meeting her. In many ways, this meeting _was_ far more important, to both of them. She could see Barry's guarded look and posture. He was trying to protect himself in case things didn't go in a good way. She could understand that. She could feel her own heart pounding, and drew a shaky breath to gather strength and courage. Her smile came out a bit more nervous than she intended.

"Hey Barry."

"Hey."

He met her eyes briefly and smiled, but she could tell he was busy shutting down emotions. He had a duffel bag clutched in one hand, which was unusual. She glanced at it, and that seemed to remind him that he was actually carrying something. He looked at it, almost surprised, and used his speed to quickly deposit it behind some nearby bushes. He returned to the exact same spot. He stood with his hands in his pockets but made no attempt to move closer. Iris felt equal measures of affection and concern. Poor Barry. She looked for a way to set him at ease.

She gestured to the lakeshore. "Let's walk." Barry nodded and fell into step beside her. Nothing was said until they got to the edge of the lake and had followed it for a short distance. Iris was trying to figure out the right words to say but for some reason they just weren't coming to her. Finally she stopped so she could turn to look at him. The tension rolling off him was killing her. She just needed to come out and say it.

"Look, Barry. I've been doing a lot of thinking since last night. And…well…" Her voice faded away. Barry was already nodding, like she had already told him the news he didn't want to hear and was letting her know it was okay. His eyes were focused on a patch of grass by her feet, and the muscle in his jaw twitched. It was definitely not okay. She switched tactics.

"Barry, do you know why I cried the night you told me you loved me?"

That got his attention, because it was the last thing he expected her to ask him. His gaze came up to her face as he raised his shoulders, hands still in his pockets. "No." He looked like he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

Iris kept going. "I cried because I felt so bad for you. All those years and you never said anything; you just kept it to yourself. That must have really hurt. You were so scared of losing me. It made me sad to realize that. Being in love with your best friend must have been so hard."

Barry was already nodding again. She felt bad for him. She would. Iris was a very caring person. She was trying to let him down easy. He swallowed, a huge weight starting to crush his chest.

Iris was still talking. "But so much has happened recently, and I've had a lot of time to think. And…I've realized that being in love with your best friend isn't so bad."

Barry was halfway through another understanding nod when the words actually made sense to him. His eyes came up to meet hers. She was smiling a tiny bit, waiting for his reaction. But all he could get out was one word: "What?"

Iris smiled a little wider. "I said being in love with your best friend isn't so bad. Right?"

He took in her words, and it was another moment before he responded to them. She felt her pulse accelerate. His face was suddenly unguarded, amazed. All his emotions unfurled from where they had been tightly shut down. His hands came out of his pockets and reached toward her face. He placed one hand on each side, cradling it gently.

She knew what he was going to do before he did it, even before his face slowly bent toward hers. She wanted him to but realized she was slightly afraid of it. She was standing with her hands at her sides, suddenly a bit awkward. She had viewed him as her best friend for so long. What if they had no chemistry?

Their lips met. At first it was almost chaste. A closed-mouth kiss between a boy and the girl he'd loved secretly for so long. Barry was trying to remember every second of it. Every sense was recording and filing away. He couldn't stop himself from trying to put everything he was feeling into it. All the years of loving Iris, all the longing, all the hope. It was too good to be true.

To Iris, it felt almost like a dream. She could feel the emotion pouring off him, and it only magnified her own. This was right. This was home.

Her eyes slid shut as she rose up on her toes to get closer. His hands moved further back, cradling her head instead of her face. Her mittened hands came up to hold his forearms and both of their heads tilted to compliment each other as the innocent kiss deepened into one between a man and a woman.

In that moment, any fears about chemistry disappeared in a blink. Every bit of energy and attraction she'd ever dared feel when she was with The Flash merged with her love for Barry. They were the same, and she wanted him. Only him. Forever. She felt overwhelmed by her emotions as he slowly broke the kiss and separated his lips from hers. She was almost close to tears, but in a very good way. Her eyes were still closed, holding on to the moment, a bit breathless. In the next second she was glad she opened them when she did. Barry's eyes had been closed too, but as he opened them his mouth curved into the most tender, beautifully happy smile she'd ever seen.

He looked into her eyes. "Right." He whispered.

* * *

><p><em>Well, as you can see this fic is starting to wrap up. But it's not over yet! After all, the metahuman still has to be dealt with, of course. If fluff is "accidentally" given out too, it can only be a good thing. :)<em>


	16. Chapter 16

_Finally the week of insanity is over and I can get back to this! This chapter is pure fluff, and I regret nothing. I always planned for it, because I feel like the quiet moments between couples say a lot about who they are and how they work together. This was fun.  
>I am so glad to have awesome readers, thanks for your support and reviews! <em>

_Gold star to you, guest KyannaLashae and anyone else who recognized the kiss spoiler pictures in the last chapter. I tried not to make it overtly obvious, so well done! :)  
>As always, thanks for reading! <em>

**Chapter 16**

"I love you."

"You keep saying that."

"Sorry. Making up for lost time."

"That's okay. I love you too."

A giggle and a laugh intertwined.

Barry and Iris were resting under a tree, still in the park by the lake. The weather was cold, but since they were wrapped together in a blanket, neither was noticing much. Barry was reclining against the tree trunk, his legs stretched out in front of him. Iris was tucked under his arm, pressed against his side with her head resting on her pillow of choice: Barry's chest. They were alone and enjoying it, since no one else was crazy enough to brave the chilly weather in the late afternoon.

It had been a very good thing that no one else was there earlier, when Barry's excitement over their kiss had exploded into activity…

* * *

><p><em>"Right." Barry whispered.<em>

_Iris pulled back ever so slightly, looking up into his face with both her hands resting on his coat front. She was fighting tears. _

_"I love you." She murmured._

_Barry had dropped his hands when she stepped back, but now they went right back to where they had been on both sides of her face. He leaned in and kissed her again. This time her arms went around his waist. When they parted, he finally replied. _

_"I love you too." _

_There was a peaceful beat of silence before Barry's excitement kicked in. "Does this mean you forgive me?"_

_Iris raised her eyebrows, cocking her head to the side. "What do you think?"_

_Barry was already grinning. He could tell that she had. And she loved him. His grin got bigger._

_Iris could see it coming and took steps to bring him back to earth. "Okay, but we do need to talk-"_

_Too late. Barry's happy excitement took over. "Okay! Where should we talk?" He scooped her up, and before she could open her mouth they were sitting on a park bench._

_"Here?" _

_Next thing she knew they were up a tree sitting on a sturdy branch. She was on his lap. She shrieked in surprise._

_"Here?" _

_They were standing in the small cluster of trees; the one Iris had stood in before as a whirlwind of seedpods drifted to the ground. By now she was just laughing. He was still the cutest nerd she knew._

_"Not on the water." She managed to sputter before he took off with both of them again. "I don't want to get wet." _

_His grin became that cocky one The Flash had bestowed on her many times. "No?"_

_"No!" She was laughing but still tried to make it forceful. "Barry, don't you dare-"_

_"Oh come on, Iris. You can air dry!" He made a motion toward her, obviously faking her out. But she still fell for it, taking a step back and countering the movement. They were both laughing now. _

_"Barry Allen if you get me wet I'll go back to not forgiving you!" _

_Barry's hands went up in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, fine." His eyes were sparkling as his grin returned. "But I do get a victory lap!" _

_He scooped her up and circled the park. Iris was fine with this arrangement, leaning close to his chest._ _He adjusted his pace to a leisurely lope, but it was still pretty fast by normal standards. He carried her higher on his chest, pulled in closer than he ever had when he carried her as The Flash. She smiled to herself. Turns out The Flash was quite a gentleman._

_After three laps around the park, Barry finally came to a stop in the middle of the trees again. He let her legs down but then put both arms around her waist, keeping her close. She smiled up at him. "Show off."_

_Barry blushed lightly while he smiled, a little sheepish. He was just so happy. Iris knew it and was glad, because she felt the same. She gave him a quick hug. "Can we talk for a bit now? Do you want to sit in the car? It's still pretty cold out here."_

_The look on Barry's face said that the car was not first on his list of ideal talking spots. His expression brightened. "Wait! Be right back."_

_And he was gone. Iris turned in a slow circle, mouth open. She was shaking her head, slightly put out, when he was suddenly back. He wrapped a large fuzzy blanket around them both, then stood facing her, grinning like an eager puppy. She laughed. "Wait, did you go all the way to your place for this?" _

_Barry shrugged. "It was closer than Joe's." _

_She made a face, half-joking half-serious. "I'm going to have to get used to this, aren't I?"_

_Barry's face fell. "Does it bother you?" _

_She immediately shook her head. "No. It's just a lot to take in." She smiled up at him, snuggling closer. "It doesn't bother me Barry. It just makes you more of who you are."_

_His worried look faded. He tipped his head toward a nearby tree. "Want to sit?"_

_"Yes, but I'll walk there, thank you." Iris giggled…_

* * *

><p>They had been resting together in comfortable silence for a while now, actually doing very little talking besides the occasional "I love you" and other small talk. Both were busy enjoying their newfound happiness, and setting up a new normal.<p>

Finally Iris sat up so she could see his face, looking a little serious. Barry waited.

"Okay Barry, I have forgiven you, but I need to tell you that this is not going to work if you continue keeping secrets. We can't have any more secrets between us. I mean it."

Barry readily agreed. "No problem. I don't have any left and I don't plan on getting any new ones." He spotted her eyes beginning to narrow and rushed to add, "Because if I tell you everything from now on it won't be a secret, right?"

Iris gave a reluctant laugh. "Okay. But you've been pretty good at keeping secrets. One of them you kept for years. You sure you can do it?"

Barry gave her a look of mock outrage. "Oh come on, that was totally different! It was my feelings for you, and they'd been there forever, and you were my best friend. I was afraid you wouldn't love me back and I didn't want to lose you!"

Her face was deadpan, as if she didn't believe him, but he knew she was teasing. "Uh huh. You know if you'd just got up the courage to tell me years ago I might have had a _boyfriend_ in a coma instead of a best friend. Or both."

He laughed. "Oh please, do you really think that would have been better?"

Iris laughed as she thought about it. "No it wouldn't have been better." She looked at him for a moment, thinking. She had grown up with Barry. She wasn't sure what would have happened if he had never been struck by lightning, but part of her thought it wouldn't have ended as well. Being The Flash had given him a new confidence he hadn't possessed before. His activities as The Flash and his visits to her had drawn them together in a different way. One she couldn't have guaranteed would have happened if he hadn't gotten his powers. He had always been destined to be her best friend, but maybe it had needed to happen this way for them to fully realize their feelings for each other. She smiled at him.

The lightning had changed everything. And it was good.

Barry was waiting for her to say something. When she didn't he looked her in the eye, suddenly more serious. "I don't want to keep secrets from you anymore Iris. I swear."

She nodded. "No more secrets, agreed?"

"Agreed." Barry lifted his arm up so she could settle back in next to him, but she didn't move. She was studying him as if a thought had just occurred.

"Barry, who is The Arrow?"

His eyebrows shot up while his mouth dropped down. "Umm, I'm not sure that's a secret I'm allowed to share."

"Barry Allen, did we or did we not just agree to no more secrets between us?"

Barry's jaw dropped as he realized how neatly she'd boxed him in. But he was also quite impressed by it, so he was smiling. He ended up with a huge open-mouthed grin on his face. "Seriously, he was mad when he found out that _I_ knew. He said something about putting an arrow in me. Which he may or may not have done later. Two, in fact. Three if you count the tranquilizer one."

Iris sat back and folded her arms. "I'm going to need details on that story later but for now, you can just tell me the identity of The Arrow."

Barry squirmed, realizing half the reason he was so reluctant to tell her. But he knew there was no hope for it. He sighed. "It's…Oliver. Queen."

Now it was Iris's turn to gape. She practically whispered next, just in case the trees were listening in. "Oliver Queen is The Arrow? Wow. Oh that kind of makes sense doesn't it? He's pretty muscular isn't he?"

Barry rolled his eyes. He couldn't keep the grumbling tone out of his voice. "Yeah, I know, his arms are twice the size of mine." He tried to show that it didn't bother him and ended up failing miserably.

Iris giggled. She'd forgotten she'd said that. She took in his demeanor and made a sad face. "Aw, Barry." She cuddled up next to him again. He willingly allowed it, but she could tell he was still dwelling on arm size. She lightened her tone. "You know, I don't really go for arms anymore."

Barry looked down at her. "You don't?" She shook her head. He was trying to gauge how truthful she was actually being. "What…do you go for nowadays?" He was sure he was going to regret asking that.

Iris turned her face up to his. Her fingers walked up his chest to his chin. "Abs." She grinned at him.

Barry couldn't hide his pleasure. "You noticed my abs?"

"Barry. In that suit, everyone notices your abs. But I go for other things besides arms and abs even more. Like heart." She put her hand on his chest. "And wanting to help people."

Barry flushed as she smiled up at him. He deliberately avoided mentioning that Oliver helped people too.

"You know," he murmured. "I really go for that too." He looked her straight in the face to make sure she understood what he was saying. She got the compliment loud and clear. She grinned happily and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth.

They had just settled in again and were discussing what to do for dinner when Barry's cell phone interrupted.

"Sorry." He apologized as he pulled it out and answered. "What?"

It was Cisco. "Barry! Joe found the concrete company! Cameron Mann's dad used to work there when he was a kid! I'm sending the satellite in that direction to see if we can find him. We need you over there right now!"

Barry's eyes flicked towards Iris. "Are you sure? You don't even know if he's there yet."

There was a moment of silence on the other line, and Barry could imagine Cisco's face easily. Right down to the sly confidential smile and slow approving head nod. "Duude, glad to know things are going okay with you two. But seriously we need The Flash and we need him now. You need to get this guy. This is the first major break we've had and we don't want to blow it now."

Barry sighed. "Fine. Be right there." He could tell Iris knew what he was going to say as he put his phone away, but he said it anyway. "I have to go. I'm sorry."

Iris nodded, hiding her disappointment as much as possible. "It's okay."

They stood up, collected the blanket and headed to the bush where Barry's duffel bag was still hidden. When they got there, he was reluctant to let go of her hand. He made a slight apologetic gesture. She smiled reassuringly. He slipped behind the bushes and emerged dressed in his suit in seconds, mask and hood in place.

Even though she had seen Barry in his suit since she had realized he was The Flash, this time it was still a bit jarring to see him that way, when she had just been standing with Barry minutes before. The whole feel of this felt very much like the last time he'd received a call, after he'd returned her to the rooftop of Jitters. Right before he'd entered an alleyway and been attacked by a brick wall. Her worry must have shown on her face, because he took a small step forward, looking more nervous than ever.

"I'm sorry. We need to get this guy. He's killed one person already." She nodded, doing her best to smooth out her face. He wasn't convinced. "Iris." He looked like he was searching for the right words. "This is part of who I am now. I _can_ do something. So I will."

She realized he was worried that she couldn't accept his Flash identity, now that it meant he'd be regularly leaving her suddenly and running into who knows what. But she knew what she'd been getting into when she'd asked him to meet her. Her dad was a cop; she'd been living with this kind of occupational hazard for a long time. She just hadn't expected the worry to be so overwhelming once he put his suit back on. Her fears of losing him hadn't really gone anywhere since the coma. Now they had a different kind of danger to fixate on. She forced down the fear and gave him a warm smile that she hoped showed him how proud she was.

"Go get 'em tiger."

He smiled back, almost timidly. She blew him a kiss. His smile got bigger and became more assured. He winked. "Be back soon."

And he was gone. Iris realized how dark it was becoming as she watched the golden lightning speed quickly away. She waited until she could no longer see him. Then she collected the blanket and Barry's duffel bag and headed to her car.

Hopefully she wouldn't get pulled over as she headed to S.T.A.R. Labs.


	17. Chapter 17

_Finally another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it. I am slightly bummed, I should have posted this before the episode yesterday, I had it written but not proofed. Oh well. It's a minor detail anyway. I swear the ideas for this chapter are ages old, not from last night, ha. Thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing! Your support is so important to me! Shout out to guest Luna, thank you for your lovely reviews! :) There will be another chapter after this one, maybe two at the very most. Thanks for reading! _

**Chapter 17**

Barry's body had left Iris and the lake, but his mind was still there. He ran back into Central City on autopilot. He slipped in and out of traffic, dodging cars and other obstacles easily; he had it down to a science by now. That was a good thing because he was far more focused on the time he had just spent at the lake with Iris. He caught himself reliving it, smiling to himself and wishing he could just turn around and go back. Reality was suddenly far better than dreams. He was so busy replaying their conversation under the tree together that he almost missed the turnoff that would take him to S.T.A.R. Labs. His course correction sprayed loose gravel and left a swooping curve in the loose dirt next to the road.

Barry was almost to S.T.A.R. Labs when Cisco came in on his comm.

"Barry we got him! He's at the concrete company. He just moved from a sand pile to the main building and back again. Head over there now."

"I need the address." Barry shifted direction and headed toward the industrial part of the city.

Cisco gave Barry the company's address and was giving additional directions as Joe paced behind him. Caitlin was sitting at her workstation with the satellite image of the company's truck lot and sand piles pulled up. Dr. Wells was seated at the console as well, his fingers steepled together as he watched the monitor.

"For once we get to see Barry in action through the satellite feed. Nicer than listening to sound effects and guessing." Harrison remarked. Caitlin nodded in agreement as she zoomed in closer, looking for any sign of movement.

"There!" She pointed at the screen. "He moved again!" She leaned into the microphone. "Barry, he moved again, let me…" Her voice trailed off as she realized that he had moved out of the zoomed-in image. She quickly zoomed back out but couldn't find any movement. "Barry he's there but I don't have his exact location anymore! Be careful."

Cisco interrupted. "Don't worry! If you can go up against The Mist and Multiplex you can take on… ChamelaMan!" He announced the name to the room at large and waited for a reaction with a big grin.

A chorus of groans resounded. Barry's voice came in on the speakers. "That is _so_ not one of your best, Cisco."

"Fine!" Cisco grumbled. "I'll find a better one. Are you there yet?"

Barry had just halted at the entryway to the truck lot. "I'm here." He moved cautiously forward, his gaze sweeping back and forth. "Which sand pile was he at last?"

"Third one down on the right. But I don't know where he moved to." Caitlin was still scanning, looking for anything that would help. Joe and Dr. Wells both leaned forward tense and focused.

Barry took in the layout. Eight sand piles spread out in front of him, two lines of four each. He warily moved forward, all senses on the alert. The truck yard was eerily silent, which didn't help the atmosphere at all. The sun was just setting and darkness lay over the scene. There were several street lamps used to illuminate the yard, probably to discourage thieves or vandalism, but it still left pockets of black. He shook his head in annoyance. "We couldn't have found this guy when it was still light out? It's not like he needs any _more_ advantage."

"Sorry man, he moves when he moves. Is he moving?" Cisco was still leaning over the comm. console. Caitlin and Dr. Wells were scanning the satellite image, where they could make out Barry moving in the grainy picture. Caitlin tracked him, making sure the image showed Barry as he moved.

Barry was still walking cautiously forward straight down the middle of the path, eyes straining. His voice unconsciously slowed to match his pace as he zeroed in on the third pile. "If…he...was…moving…I think…you'd…know." He circled the sand pile, but nothing was unusual. He turned to look at the rest, dropping his guard somewhat.

Cameron Mann could be camouflaged against any one of them. Barry was pretty sure he was still on the premises. But all he had to do was stay wherever he was and Barry wouldn't be able to find him, short of feeling his way up and down each sand pile. While it was something Barry could do faster than an ordinary man, even that had too much room for error. He couldn't watch all sides of all of the piles the entire time. Cameron had had a year to perfect his hiding techniques. They could dance around each other and Barry might never even see him. Barry considered his options. He had to draw him out somehow. There was only one way he could think of to do that. He dropped his guard completely and started back up through the path toward the main building. He raised his voice slightly, just to make sure.

"I'm not seeing him, guys. Maybe I'll check out the main building, see if the jewelry is in there. If we can't get him we can at least return the jewelry to the rightf-"

A very large left hook abruptly cut off Barry's words. Unprepared and with his guard down, the power of the punch spun him around and landed him in the dirt. One thought registered in the split second after he landed.

_Well, at least the plan had been a success._

Spitting blood, Barry flipped to his back in time to see Cameron Mann bearing down on him. The man's face was full of fury. As Cameron straightened up to his full height, Barry came to a frightening realization:

Cameron Mann was indeed a very big man.

He towered over Barry. Even from his position on the ground, Barry could tell he was well over six feet tall. Every inch of him was big, his form well muscled and thick. Barry was pretty sure super strength was not part of his metahuman gifts, but it didn't look like Cameron needed it. Cameron had enough natural strength to do quite a bit of damage.

Cameron reached for Barry's throat. Barry quickly rolled to one side, and then the other as Cameron followed. A heavy fist sunk into the ground next to Barry's head. Again on his back, Barry brought up his legs and used his speed to hammer kicks into Cameron's chest. His legs became a blur, ending with one well-aimed kick to push the other man back. Cameron's hands came up in an attempt to gain some balance, but the momentum of Barry's assault sent him straight backwards, where he spread-eagled onto his own back. He landed with a heavy thud in the dirt. Barry didn't notice the exact location; he was already scrambling to his feet.

Barry whirled around; readying himself for another attack, then realized he was looking at nothing in every direction. Breathing harshly, he quickly scanned the area and knew that Cameron had camouflaged himself again. He took a step back and then belatedly realized that his comm. was alive with chatter from both Caitlin and Cisco.

"He's there! He's right there!"

"Barry, watch out!"

"Where? 'There' is not helpful to me, guys!" Barry's exasperated tone turned to a yelp as a meaty hand gripped his calf and pulled. He fell straight forward, barely getting his hands up to avoid taking the brunt of it with his face. Cameron had neatly camouflaged himself into the dirt he'd landed on. Barry's single step backward had brought him within Cameron's reach.

This time when Barry went down he didn't have the advantage of his feet. By the time he hit the ground Cameron was ready. Barry felt the other man's hands close around his neck from behind and lift him straight into the air. His feet left the ground and dangled uselessly. He quickly realized the helplessness of his position; with Cameron behind him he wasn't even sure where to strike out with his fists in order to gain freedom. It was possible he couldn't even reach. Barry reflexively grabbed the large fingers around his throat, trying to loosen their grip. It was impossible. Cameron's hands were squeezing down on his throat, and the chatter of distressed voices in his comm. began to fade as he fought for breath. Bursts of light popped in front of his eyes. He could feel his strength leaving him.

More than ever, he just wanted to run back to the lake. And Iris.

Instinct took over. It wasn't a well thought out plan. Barry's only thought was escape and his legs obeyed, even in thin air. His last bit of oxygen was spent running in place.

Luckily, running on thin air produced the same golden electricity that running on the ground did. As it arced off of Barry's body, Cameron twitched in surprise and dropped him.

Barry hit the ground, kneeling on one knee with the other drawn up in starter position. He took a huge gulp of air and ran.

* * *

><p>Iris had broken the speed limit in every stage of her drive to S.T.A.R. Labs. She was immensely grateful she hadn't been pulled over on the way; that would have just wasted precious time.<p>

She was sure that by the time she made it there Barry would be in the middle of attempting to bring in another metahuman. And she was right.

She just hadn't known how serious it would be.

She rounded the corner into the main lab in time to hear Barry's voice over the microphone.

"Where? 'There' is not helpful to me, guys!"

Iris heard Barry's yelp of surprise. Then everyone began speaking at once, gathered in twos around the microphone.

"Barry!"

"Get out of there!"

"Hit him, Barry!"

But Dr. Wells' voice scared Iris most of all. Low, urgent and almost guttural. "Run Barry. Run!"

Iris moved up to see the monitor that everyone was looking at. They didn't even notice her presence; they were too focused on it. Through a crack in between two shoulders she could see what they were seeing via satellite feed.

Barry was hanging in between a huge man's hands, slowly being strangled in front of their eyes.

Everything froze. She couldn't breathe, couldn't speak. She could only stare in horror. Iris silently echoed Dr. Wells. _Run. Run Barry! _

As soon as she thought it, he did it. She watched as his legs began running, as golden electricity arced off him, as he breathed again and then disappeared off the satellite image.

Only when he gulped in air did she do the same.

Everyone else went limp. Sighs of relief echoed through the room. Cisco looked at the computer monitor that registered Barry's vitals, then blew out a breath. He glanced at the others as he spoke. "He's okay. His vitals are stabilizing. Oh, hey Iris." His greeting was almost casual, as if her sudden appearance was already commonplace.

The others started in surprise. Especially Joe, who had been carefully scrutinizing the satellite image. They stared at her a moment, then turned back to the comm. console to talk with Barry. Harrison's gaze lingered a few seconds longer than anyone else; his eyes narrowed slightly behind his glasses. Joe moved over to her.

"Are you all right?" His voice was low and concerned. He didn't have to ask if she'd just witnessed Barry's narrow escape. It was obvious that she had. She nodded but didn't speak. Joe put an arm around her shoulders as they both listened to the conversation play out.

"Barry? Are you okay?" Caitlin tried to make her wavering voice sound normal but didn't quite pull it off.

They heard the sound of a throat clearing, then Barry's reply. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." His voice was more hoarse than usual, and he was still catching his breath.

Dr. Wells spoke up. "Barry, that was a little too close for comfort, maybe you should come back. We'll formulate a better plan, we can try to trap him."

"No! He knows we're on to him now! He could leave here and we'll have no idea where to search for him again. We can't stop now, he's too dangerous!"

Dr. Wells took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We don't need a dead hero, Mr. Allen." Iris silently agreed.

They could hear Barry's frustrated sigh over the comm.

* * *

><p>Barry sighed in frustration and looked up at the night sky. His escape had been very lucky. He knew it, but he still couldn't bring himself to leave. He was leaning on a building two businesses down the street from the concrete company. He was safe. But chances of bringing Cameron in didn't look good. Any chance of surprise was now blown. His team probably had no idea where Cameron was camouflaging himself now. He could be anywhere. Again. Barry seriously doubted that a second attempt to draw him out would work. He ignored the pain in his throat as he stared at the stars. What he wouldn't give to be back at the lake, even in the dark. The night he'd taken Iris there as The Flash had been pretty awesome…<p>

His head snapped down as the memory came back to him.

"Wait." He muttered. "Wait. I have an idea. Is there any chance you saw where he concealed himself after I left?"

Caitlin, Cisco and Dr. Wells all shook their heads, but Joe stepped forward to the microphone.

"Yes. Barry, he hid himself at the second sand pile on the right as soon as you left and I haven't seen him move. I think."

Cisco gave him an impressed glance. "Nice."

Joe shrugged. It wasn't easy to turn off the cop part of him.

Caitlin was frowning. "Barry, if he gets a hold of you again you might not make it out this time." Dr. Wells agreed.

Iris was silent, waiting to hear Barry's idea.

His voice sounded less hoarse already as he replied. "Don't worry, if this works he won't be able to touch me at all."

"_If_ it works." Caitlin muttered to herself. Everyone moved to the satellite image, which still showed the second sand pile.

Barry blew out a breath, preparing to run. He was glad his hyper healing had lessened the ache in his throat. He raced back toward the company and was in the truck lot in seconds. He zeroed in on the second sand pile and began running around it, keeping his circles tight, but not too close. It took quite a few laps, but eventually the air began to form a whirlwind that stirred the sand. He increased his speed. If Cameron was in there he had no choice but to hold still, Barry's tight circles gave him no chance to leave. Barry kept a close eye on the pile as he ran. The whirlwind force increased, and the loose sand on top of the pile began to lift. It rose up in swirls and eddies, actually looking quite beautiful considering the circumstances.

Watching on the monitor, Iris saw Barry's progress create blurred rings of light. A whirlwind of sand rose into the air. She gave a quiet huff of laughter, smiling slightly. She'd seen that before, but she'd been on the other side of it.

"It'll work." She whispered. Joe heard and glanced down at her.

Barry had to squint against the shifting grit but still kept his eyes trained on the sand pile as he ran.

And finally he saw it. Through the swirling curtain of constantly moving sand, there was one thing unmoving: A human form. Cameron Mann could make himself look like sand, but he couldn't make himself look like _moving_ sand. Barry did one more lap around the pile to gain as much speed as possible and launched himself directly at Cameron.

Barry's fist caught Cameron square on the jaw. Cameron was big, but he wasn't made of steel. The momentum carried both of them several feet away from the sand pile. They landed in the dirt. Barry staggered to his feet. Cameron didn't. He was knocked cold. Barry stood over his still form as sand softly swirled to the ground around them.

Cisco cheered. Dr. Wells and Caitlin were smiling at each other. Joe breathed a sigh of relief.

But Iris was still staring at the monitor, watching the lanky man in the red suit exhale as he finally relaxed. She could still see him in her mind's eye, standing there at the lake.

"_This is part of who I am now. I can do something. So I will."_

Tears brimmed as she thought back on all the years she had known Barry. Barry, taking on bullies twice his size to defend others. Barry, running after the kid who had stolen her laptop the night of the particle accelerator explosion. Barry, waking up from a coma with powers and deciding to use them for good. She watched him on the monitor, and even though the suit was a recent addition she felt like he had been The Flash his entire life. He had always given everything he had to help others.

Joe looked down at Iris, saw the tears in her eyes, and put his arm around her again.

"Honey, it's okay. Look, I know it's dangerous. But he's seen worse, believe me. He's actually pretty good at this." His voice was soft, so that only he and Iris could hear.

Iris shook her head. "It's not that. It's just…wasn't he always this? A hero?" She smiled softly.

Joe's look registered surprise, but he looked at the monitor too, where Barry was leaning down to check on Cameron Mann's condition. His smile reflected his daughter's.

"Yeah." He murmured. "Yeah, he always was." They looked at each other, basking in the memories of their years as a family.

Cisco had been talking on the comm. with Barry, discussing transport for Cameron since he was probably way too heavy for Barry to carry. Now he walked over to Joe and Iris, a proud look on his face.

"Isn't he awesome! I mean, that wasn't a sonic punch, but it was pretty great! Right Iris?"

Iris cocked her head and raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry Cisco, which was the sonic punch? Did you mean me punching Tony or Barry punching him? You meant me, right?"

Cisco laughed out loud and offered his palm for a high five. Joe was grinning.

And just like that, Iris was part of the group.


	18. Chapter 18

_I said one or two chapters, but instead you get one long chapter. This is the final chapter of this fic. I hope you enjoy it! I am kind of sad to end this one, I've been working on it so long. But the good news is that another idea has struck and I am about to yet again pull the stupid move of trying to get a fic completed before the hiatus ends. I never learn. It's a bit of a different idea, but I am twitchy excited to start it, so I hope you'll come back to read that one too! All I can say is angst, angst, angst. _

_You guys are the best readers one could ask for. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and support, it means so much to me. You guys are all so awesome!_

_Also, Guest Brenda if you are still reading you need to make an account so we can blab, I think we'd be best friends, lol. Guest Luna, same goes for you! :)_

_Thanks for reading! You guys all rock! :) _

**Chapter 18**

Barry stood with his arms folded and watched Cameron Mann, still unconscious but now occupying his very own cell in the pipeline.

Usually Barry felt pretty good when he captured a dangerous metahuman and removed him from society. But this was one of those times when he didn't feel as good about it.

He admitted Cameron was dangerous; he'd experienced the man's deadly qualities twice now. But there was something about him that Barry identified with. Maybe it was his past. Maybe it was his fixation on something beautiful.

When Cisco had arrived with a S.T.A.R. Labs van at the concrete company, Barry had already located the stolen jewelry. Just as he'd thought, it was at the main building. Cameron had hidden the bag under a loose board in the wooden stairs at the back door. He handed it over to Joe, who promised to return the items to their correct owners. Joe had then filled him in on the information he'd gathered on Cameron Mann.

Cameron's mom had died when he was six. His father had worked at the concrete company and had done his best to raise the boy alone. According to the old neighbor Joe had been able to track down, Cameron had begun speaking less and less after his mother died. He spent hours holding his mother's wedding bands, staring at the diamonds.

Cameron's father had disappeared when he was nine. He was still officially missing. Cameron had disappeared into the foster care system, where there was very little information to be found. After he had turned eighteen Cameron had been so anonymous that he barely showed up on the radar. Until he was arrested as an adult for assault. He had assaulted his boss at his job in construction work and promptly been let go afterwards, even though the charges had been dropped.

Barry could fit the pieces together pretty well after that. Cameron had moved on and been hired at the jewelry store, where he had developed strong feelings for the owner. After he'd been refused for a date, he had sunk further and further into his obsession with gems. Barry had to admit he could understand it. They probably reminded him of his mother, and he used them to escape his reality. Cameron's continual collecting of the items indicated compulsive qualities and unhappiness more than anything else. Barry felt a bit sorry for him. Cameron had lost that job too, and then the particle accelerator exploded. Barry couldn't help but feel that he could have ended up in a similar state if not for Joe and Iris.

Joe had already left for the station and Barry was still standing in front of Cameron's cell when the metahuman began to wake up. Barry waited as Cameron took stock of his surroundings, realized he was imprisoned, and hit the walls a few times, testing their strength. They all did that.

"I'm sorry Cameron, but I had to return the jewelry to the rightful owners. Do you still have your mother's wedding bands? I'll get them for you and let you keep them if you want. I know they mean something to you."

Cameron just gave him a baleful glare and said nothing. Barry tried again.

"Look, Cameron. I know what it's like to feel invisible. I'm sorry you ended up in here. Life has dealt you some crappy hands."

Cameron still said nothing. He radiated hostility and aggression. Barry sighed in resignation. Only then did he realize Cisco was behind him, holding some paper and a few supplies. Cisco moved up next to him. They both looked at Cameron for a moment. The prisoner looked and acted almost feral, more like a trapped wild animal than a man.

"Do you realize we've never heard him speak a word? Do you think that's what the particle accelerator did to him or just his own choice?" Cisco sounded serious, as if each possibility was disturbing to him.

Barry watched as Cameron backed into the wall of the cell behind him and melted into it. The cell looked empty now.

"I don't think we'll ever know, Cisco." Barry looked at the supplies in Cisco's hands. "What are those for?"

"Well, it occurred to me that if he did his disappearing act, his cell would look unoccupied." Cisco gestured to the empty-looking cell to prove his point.

Barry nodded. "Oh, so you're going to put a note on it so we don't let him out by accident?"

"Yup." Cisco uncapped a marker. "Just need to write something on here."

A thought occurred to Barry as he waited. "Did you ever find a better name for this guy?"

Cisco's smile was a bit sad as he straightened up and began taping the paper to the glass on the front of the cell. "Just thought of one now, actually." He stepped away so Barry could read his makeshift sign:

**DON'T FORGET**

**MR. INVISIBLE **

**LIVES HERE**

Barry swallowed. He could tell that Cisco had spent time feeling invisible too. It happened to nerds a lot growing up. He clapped Cisco on the shoulder to show his approval.

"It's a good name, Cisco, thanks. We'd be so screwed without you here."

Cisco smiled. "Thanks, man." He sealed off the door to the pipeline and headed down the ramp. "Oh, by the way, there's a surprise in the main lab for you." He raised his eyebrows up and down a few times and left.

* * *

><p>Barry and Cisco had arrived at an entrance closer to the pipeline, so Barry had yet to enter the main lab that evening. When he finally did, he pulled up short. His face changed to happy surprise.<p>

"Hi! I didn't know you were here."

Iris smiled back at him, her eyes shining. "Hi. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

They both were smiling like idiots, but neither really noticed. It felt like ages had passed since the lake. They moved closer to each other until they were within arm's reach. Their eyes were locked together, oblivious to anything else.

"Oh my God, please get a room you guys. This is like Ronnie and Caitlin all over again." Cisco's voice was tinged with disgust and laughter at the same time.

"Leave them alone Cisco, it's sweet." Caitlin was smiling their way.

Barry ducked his head, embarrassed. "Um, do you want to go get some dinner? I've been running too much and I really need some food."

Iris nodded eagerly. "Sure!"

Barry's face lit up. "Okay! Let me just-" He zipped away, then returned almost immediately for the duffel bag Iris was now dangling from a finger. "Thanks." She giggled. He was back in a second, out of his suit and into his clothes. "-get changed. You ready?"

"Ready when you are."

They both disappeared in a rush of wind.

Cisco was shaking his head. "They're going to have to come back to get her car. He doesn't _have_ to carry her everywhere."

Caitlin said nothing, remembering the first several months of dating Ronnie, when they couldn't be near each other without holding hands. She sighed.

"Humans need touch, Cisco. Don't tell me you wouldn't be carrying your girl every chance you got if you could."

Cisco grinned. "Okay maybe, but I don't think she'd appreciate it as much. We'd be going so much slower. I should make something that will carry me and my girl at a super fast speed."

Caitlin fought a smile. "You mean, like a car?" She gave him a look, like the idea was crazy.

Cisco laughed. "Or! A jet powered wheelchair thing." Cisco's face froze. It was obvious he had an idea. Again. He leaned forward conspiratorially and whispered. "Who wants to help me trick out Wells' wheelchair? We could make it a turbo ride! That would be so sick!"

Caitlin giggled. "Not me. Plus you'd have to get him out of it. Good luck."

Cisco relinquished the idea. "True. Oh, well. One more metahuman down. Barry is definitely not doing a patrol tonight. Guess it's time to head home."

Caitlin agreed.

* * *

><p>After some debate between burgers and pizza, Iris and Barry decided both were good. They ended up at Joe's, their bounty spread across the dining table. Barry made sure to put a burger and several pieces of pizza aside for Iris before devouring the rest at high speed. Iris was two bites into her burger and shaking her head when he was finished.<p>

"That is so unfair! Do you know how many girls would kill for your metabolism?"

Barry sat back in his chair, tossing a napkin onto his plate. "Ohh I feel so much better. I could tell my blood sugar was having trouble."

He waited until she was finished eating too. They cleaned up together, at the same time in best friend mode and nervous new love territory. Both were far too giggly and full of smiles.

Barry was setting up a movie and finding another blanket when he looked up to see Iris standing in the doorway of the kitchen, watching him. He straightened up with a questioning look.

Iris had a perfectly content look on her face as she approached. She moved in front of him and put her hand over his heart, enjoying the rapid rhythm. He smiled down at her before he leaned in for a quick kiss. She laid her head on his chest and they stood together, arms wrapped around each other.

Barry suddenly had a thought. "Iris, when did you get to S.T.A.R. Labs?" She raised her head to meet his eyes. "I mean, did you see any of the fight-" He stopped talking, because it was obvious she had seen plenty by the look she was giving him. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes a minute, suddenly nervous. "Okay." He sat down on the couch and waited for her to sit too. He rubbed his hands together, then reached for hers and looked her in the eye. "Okay Iris, I'm so sorry you had to see that, and I know it must have scared you so badly. I promise to be more careful from now on, but this is really something I need to do-"

"Barry."

"-maybe it's best if you aren't present when I do things like that, you don't need that added to the stress of worrying I'll get hurt or killed, especially after the coma-"

"Barry!" Her voice was louder now. He halted his diatribe and waited, holding his breath.

Iris couldn't help the fond feelings rising up in her. He was so nervous, so worried. She tried not to laugh. "Barry. It's okay. It was really scary watching that fight, but you came out of it in the end _and_ you caught the bad guy, and _I_ learned that I could handle what you do. I've been a cop's daughter my whole life. I know what you do is dangerous, but you also heal fast, and you have your powers as an advantage. You have brains, and you have heart. I love all of you, and even though I never want to lose you I don't have to go hide every time you go out as The Flash. We're going to be fine." She put a hand on his cheek and smiled at him.

Barry let out his breath on a rush. "Oh thank God! I was really worried. I don't want to have to choose. I mean I know which I would choose, but thank you for not making me." He realized he was babbling, took a deep breath, and started over. "Thank you Iris, you are so strong. You are such a hero too, you just take your shirt off instead of putting on a mask."

Iris laughed. "I love you Barry Allen."

"I love you too." He kissed her. It was quiet for a bit, until Iris pulled away. They were both breathing heavy.

"Okay mister, we'd better start the movie before I really do take my shirt off." She grinned wickedly, and then snuggled up next to him and arranged the blanket over them both. Barry's face flushed with color as he grabbed the remote, but he willingly settled into the couch, enjoying their closeness.

They were through the opening credits before anyone spoke again. "Just don't get struck by lightning ever again, okay?"

Barry chuckled. "Well, statistically speaking, the chances of being struck at all are like one in six hundred thousand, so the chances of being struck twice in a lifetime are pretty minimal-"

"Barry." Iris was grinning at him, and he could tell he was being a nerd again.

He smiled at her and murmured. "I promise."

Half an hour later Joe came in the front door. He answered their greeting, put his coat on its hook, and came into the living room. His detective senses took in their closely snuggled forms under the blanket, their bright happy looks, and the general lack of tension in the room.

Joe spread out his hands. "Okay, have you two worked everything out? Is everybody happy again?"

Iris and Barry exchanged a look.

"Everything is great, Dad."

"We are totally happy, Joe."

Joe's eyes narrowed. Whoa. Looked like both of Barry's secrets were out and dealt with. He hid a grin and sank down into the chair next to the couch. "I am so glad. You two and your angst were killing me."

* * *

><p><strong>Two Months Later<strong>

Spring had arrived with a vengeance, and all the trees around the lake were in bloom. Pink, white, and magenta blooms covered them, creating a picturesque beauty.

It was beauty perfect for a picnic. And that was exactly what Barry had in mind as he ran out to the lake that afternoon, holding Iris in his arms.

Since the weather was better there were actually people around the lake, so Barry and Iris came to a stop further back so as not to draw attention. He set her down and took the picnic basket she'd been carrying on her lap as he ran. They held hands and walked the rest of the way in.

"Don't forget I only have an hour. I don't want to be back late. I just got this job, I need to make a good first impression." Iris reminded Barry.

"Don't worry, I'll get you back in time." Barry gave her a confident grin.

"Yeah, with or without my hair in a total mess?" Iris poked him in the side.

"Seriously, if they don't see what an awesome journalist you are because they're looking at your hair, then Central City News has some major problems."

Iris rolled her eyes at him, but inside she was grinning.

They spread the blanket out under a tree and ate lunch. Afterwards Barry leaned against the tree while Iris reclined on him. He was filling her in on his visit to Starling City the night before.

"Barry Allen, you did not just whoosh Oliver Queen out of his Arrow Cave!"

He laughed, enjoying himself. "Oh yes I did! And I told him that I was so glad he was alive, but if he ever played dead again I would kill him myself. And I know he's all I-have-to-be-alone-tough-guy, but he should have reached out to me for help or at least made contact when he returned from the dead."

"He didn't shoot you again, did he?" Iris winced.

"No I made sure his arrows were far away before I said that."

"So what did he say?"

"A lot of talk about how busy he was and how things were crazy and he didn't have time and can't endanger people he cares about…the usual."

Iris sat up and turned towards him. "Wait. 'People he cares about?' Did I hear that right?"

Barry's laugh was giddy. "I know! I heard it, but I let it slide. I didn't want to embarrass him too much. Besides, I had one more thing to say."

"Oh good you did say it."

"Yup. I told him he was full of crap, and life is short, and he better just suck it up and make a life with Felicity before it's too late."

"Says the man who waited for years." Barry tickled her sides. "Hey!" They laughed, and then she settled back in on him and became more serious. "Do you think it made any kind of impression on him?"

"I don't know. I hope so. I pointed out that heroes could have love. Sometimes guys like us do get the girl. I mean, Diggle has Lyla and his daughter. I've got you."

She turned her head up to him. "Thank goodness for that."

He grinned and kissed her quickly. "Tell me about it."

"Well, I'm glad you said it anyway."

"I did my best. And I think Felicity was listening on Oliver's comm again because she gave me a hug and whispered 'thank you' in my ear before I left."

Iris laughed. "I totally love her." Barry agreed.

It was almost time to head back into Central City. Iris was looking up at the trees, enjoying the beauty of the flowers. She looked around. They were alone at the lake. Finally. She sat up.

"Barry, do you remember when you brought me out here after you heard Oliver was alive?"

Barry gave her a look. "Yeah, of course."

She looked at him and raised her eyebrows. His went up as well as he tried to discern her meaning. She looked up at the branches of the tree they were under, then leaned closer to him.

"Do it again."

Barry's slow smile was the boyish one that made him look eight. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then sprang into action. He ran loops around the trees, building up enough of a whirlwind to break the petals off their blooms and send them high into the air. Then he was back on the ground, reclining on an elbow, ready to appreciate the beauty.

The floating petals were beautiful, but they just couldn't compare to her. Iris was on her knees, arms outstretched and surrounded by floating petals. Time was suspended in a perfect moment, giving him a snapshot of her laughing face and outstretched arms, petals everywhere.

She was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.


End file.
